Emotional Support
Our members tell us time and time again how talking to someone who ‘has been there’ can help.
RoadPeace helps bereaved families by providing peer support and connecting victims with others similarly affected whilst providing ways to cope with the aftermath a road death.
We offer support through our:
"Sometimes when you feel alone and cut off from the rest of society it’s nice to know people from RoadPeace are always there to catch us when we fall”.
Helpline
Call us on 0845 4500 355
Calls to the helpline are charged at a local rate.
The helpline is the first point of contact for all our services.
- It offers emotional support and practical guidance including information on the post-crash process. This can take the form of alerting callers to specific information guides or putting them in touch with other members.
- All calls to the helpline are confidential.
- If you need to talk to someone urgently and are experiencing emotional distress then the Samaritans are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123.
- If you would prefer to get in touch via email then the address is helpline@roadpeace.org. We try and get back to enquiries as soon as possible.
“It is reassuring to hear that we are not going mad and although life will not be the same, the black cloud will lift and there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel”.
Befriender Service
Our established befriending service puts callers in touch with others who have previously been through a similar experience to themselves. This scheme is powered by great good will and a mass of very devastating experience. It is a very humane service and is at the heart of what RoadPeace was set up to do.
A befriender is a member of RoadPeace who offers continuing telephone support to callers referred by the RoadPeace helpline. Befrienders are not counsellors and provide predominantly emotional support. Telephone befriending ensures that people who have been bereaved or injured in a crash can be put in touch with someone who really does know how they feel, wherever they are calling from.
RoadPeace is a member of the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.
If you would like to find out about more about finding a befriender, or becoming a befriender, then please contact the Support Services Manager on 0207 733 1603 or email helpline@roadpeace.org.
"This support from like-minded people, who all share a common, yet tragic connection, makes you feel less alone on your grief journey."
Resilience Building Support Programme
This is a trauma support programme for families bereaved by road deaths. The programme runs over six sessions in small groups with trained group facilitators and aims to offer families:
- An opportunity to meet with others bereaved by road crashes.
- Tools for understanding and coping with the reactions of your loss e.g. stress, negative thoughts, anxiety and distress, panic attacks, sleeplessness and nightmares.
- An insight into how the mind and body can react to traumatic loss.
The programme is free of charge.
If you or your family would like to attend any future programme please contact RoadPeace via email at helpline@roadpeace.org or alternatively call the RoadPeace office on 0207 733 1603.
Independent Evaluation
RoadPeace obtained funding from the Ministry of Justice to administer an independent evaluation for the Resilience Building Programme. Please click here to read the summary of the findings: Independent Evaluation - Executive Summary
"One of the best aspects of the programme is to listen to others in a similar situation and although everyone copes differently, all seem to experience similar feelings. It is reassuring to hear that we are not going mad and although life will not be the same, the black cloud will lift and there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel."
Local Groups
These meetings offer the opportunity for continuing mutual support between bereaved families.
They also provide a means of learning what else is happening in the local area and of taking action if members wish to do so.
RoadPeace currently has groups in the following areas. Use the tabs to learn more:
“Gaining support after the awful aftermath of losing a loved one in a crash through those similarly affected has been a lifeline for our family. No one else seems to understand the pain and grief that engulfs you”.
RoadPeace also holds two meetings for families bereaved by road deaths abroad twice a year.
Meeting dates for 2019
| Wednesday | 9th January 2019 | 6.30-8.30pm |
| Wednesday | 13th March 2019 | 6.30-8.30pm |
| Wednesday | 8th May 2019 | 6.30-8.30pm |
For further information contact our Support Services Manager, Belina Rauli on 020 7733 1603 or email helpline@roadpeace.org.
Other local activities:
Other local activities include:- Roadside vigils
- An annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims service held on Sunday 17th November 2019.
Meeting dates for 2019
| Wednesday | 9th January 2019 | 6.00-8.00pm |
| Wednesday | 13th March 2019 | 6.00-8.00pm |
| Wednesday | 8th May 2019 | 6.00-8.00pm |
For further information contact our Support Services Manager, Belina Rauli on 020 7733 1603 or email helpline@roadpeace.org.
Other local activities:
Other local activities include:- Ceremony of Remembrance in August at the RoadPeace Wood, National Arboretum, Staffordshire
Meeting dates for 2019
| Wednesday | 2nd January 2019 | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday | 6th March 2019 | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday | 1st May 2019 | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday | 3rd July 2019 | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday | 4th September 2019 | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday | 6th November 2019 | 7.30pm |
The North West Group also hold support meetings for families bereaved by road crashes thanks to funding from the Merseyside Road Safety Partnership.
Meeting dates for 2019
| Friday | 1st February 2019 | 2.00pm |
| Friday | 5th April 2019 | 2.00pm |
For further information contact our Support Services Manager, Belina Rauli on 020 7733 1603 or email helpline@roadpeace.org.
Other local activities:
Other local activities include:- An annual Ceremony of Remembrance held on 31st August at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
- An annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims service held at St George’s Hall
For further information and if you would like to attend a meeting please contact Kate at kate.uzzellk@gmail.com.
Memorial stone for road crash victims in the South West
The memorial stone has been created to recognise and remember the lives lost and broken on roads across the South West region.
The unveiling and dedication of this new memorial took place at a ceremony on Saturday 22 May. Over 100 people attended and listened to moving and supportive words from Don Foster - MP for Bath, Inspector Jon Hext - Head of Collision Investigation for Avon and Somerset Police, Jon Day - Avon Fire and Rescue and Councillor Ian Dewey, Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The memorial was dedicated by Rev Martin Lloyd Williams of St Michael's Church in Bath followed by two minutes silence. Seven doves were then released, representing each of the seven counties of the South West of England and also representing the seven people who are killed every day on Britain's roads.
The memorial is located in the centre of Bath on Lower Borough Walls (BA1 1QR).
Meeting dates for 2019
| Monday | 4th March 2019 | 6.00-8.00pm |
| Monday | 6th May 2019 | 6.00-8.00pm |
Meetings are held at Watermans Solicitors, The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6RG. For further information place contact our local group coordinator Joan Strachan at roadpeacescotland@gmail.com.