Image: Brake
A charity which provides help to victims of road crashes – and those supporting them – has announced the expansion of its caseworker team.
The National Road Victim Service, managed for more than two decades by the road safety charity Brake, provides help and advice to thousands of bereaved and seriously injured people each year.
All police forces across the UK distribute National Road Victim Service information to road victim’s families and the service works in close partnership with many police family liaison officers.
Thanks to corporate donations, the service is recruiting 12 new regionally-based caseworkers, and two regional case managers, to support more victims across all parts of England and Wales.
These professional caseworkers will have expertise in helping victims suffering shock, turmoil, devastation, and many life challenges as a result of crashes.
The expansion comes just weeks after the National Road Victim Service was awarded a £537,000 grant from the Scottish Government to extend its support for road crash victims in Scotland over the next three years.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for roads policing, said: “Of course I want to see far fewer families suffer the traumatic, unexpected and often preventable death of a loved one on our roads.
“But we know that there will be hundreds of families, this year alone, that will need compassionate and professional support when, sadly, they do suffer such a loss. We must always remember, these are real people, not just numbers.”
Mary Williams OBE, Brake’s chief executive, said: “Today’s expansion marks a big step towards our goal of more than 4,000 road crash victims getting the care they need each year, and this step is taken thanks to the vital donations received from expert law firms who assist road victims.”
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