07Nov2026
For survivors, caregivers, and communities affected by motor vehicle accidents.

Type To Search

donate now
donate now
logotype

Type To Search

peer support Tag
Home Posts Tagged "peer support"

Tag: peer support

Families For Safe Streets
Grief and LossPost-Trauma LifeResource ConversationsYou Are Not Alone
October 6, 2026

Finding Support and Community After a Motor Vehicle Incident

A Conversation with Families for Safe Streets

After a motor vehicle incident, it can be difficult to know where to turn.
You may be dealing with physical injuries, grief, trauma, changes to your everyday life, complicated systems, or simply the feeling that no one around you really understands what you have been through.
And sometimes, you are not just trying to recover. You also want to make sure what happened to you does not happen to someone else.
That is where community can make an enormous difference.
In this Resource Conversation, Sandal Blue Foundation spoke with Aly Geller from Families for Safe Streets about the support available to people who have survived a crash, lost a loved one, or are caring for someone affected by a crash.

You Are Not Alone

Families for Safe Streets is a growing national organization with approximately 2,000 members and chapters across the country. The organization supports people whose lives have been affected by motor vehicle incidents while also working toward preventing future deaths and injuries.
Aly coordinates support services for the national organization. Her role includes helping new community members find the support, resources, and opportunities that fit where they are right now.
That last part is important.
There is no single “right” place to be after a traumatic event.
Maybe you are ready to connect with someone who understands. Maybe you need practical information about navigating what comes next. Maybe you want to talk with other survivors or people who have experienced a loss. Or maybe you are ready to use your experience to advocate for safer roads.
Families for Safe Streets has resources for all of those places.
As Aly shared, their team is ready to ask, “Where are you today?” and then help you find what you need right now.

The Power of Being Seen and Heard

One of the most meaningful parts of support after a motor vehicle incident can be talking with someone who truly understands.
There is something powerful about having a witness to your grief, physical pain, fear, frustration, or changing identity.
It can sound deceptively simple: being seen and heard.
But connecting with someone who has been through something similar can help reduce the isolation that often follows a traumatic experience.
Families for Safe Streets offers a peer mentor program that connects community members with trained mentors who have their own experience with crash loss or injury. Mentors receive training in how to have supportive conversations, and whenever possible, people can be connected with someone whose experience is similar to their own.
Sometimes it also helps to meet someone who is a little farther down the road.
When you are in the middle of something incredibly difficult, seeing someone who has found a way forward can offer something important: a glimpse of possibility.
There can be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Support Does Not Have to Be One-on-One

Not everyone wants individual support, and sometimes it helps to be part of a larger community.
Families for Safe Streets offers virtual support gatherings where people affected by crashes can come together, connect, and participate in facilitated conversations.
The organization also hosts special events, including book clubs and guest speakers, giving members opportunities to learn, connect, and build relationships with others who understand.
There is also a National Story Map, an online space created to honor and memorialize people who have been killed in crashes.
The Story Map gives families and survivors a place to be seen and heard. It also allows decision-makers and the broader community to see the human beings behind crash statistics.
Because these are not just numbers.
They are people.
They are parents, children, spouses, siblings, friends, coworkers, and neighbors whose lives have been changed.

Practical Resources for the Road Ahead

Support after a motor vehicle incident is not only emotional.
Sometimes you need to know what to do next.
Families for Safe Streets has a Post-Crash Resource Guide designed to help people navigate some of the systems and situations that can come after a crash, including interacting with law enforcement, navigating the legal system, and responding if the media reaches out.
They also have a member-generated Resource Guide with resources related to grief, trauma, and other needs that can arise after a crash.
These resources are designed to be something you can return to when you are ready.
You do not have to figure everything out at once.

Turning Experience Into Change

For many people affected by crashes, there eventually comes a point when they want to do something to prevent others from experiencing what they have experienced.
Families for Safe Streets creates opportunities for people to do exactly that.
The organization focuses on upstream solutions: evidence-based approaches that address the conditions that contribute to crashes before someone is injured or killed.
Their advocacy work includes safer roads, safer speeds, and safer vehicles.
One current campaign is Stop Super Speeders, which advocates for legislation requiring intelligent speed assistance devices for repeat speeding offenders. The campaign has passed in nine states or jurisdictions and continues to grow.
Families for Safe Streets also has an Ambassador program that provides training for people who want to become involved in advocacy and learn how to help advance this type of legislation in their own state.
You can explore the Stop Super Speeders campaign, see where legislation has passed or is pending, and learn how to get involved.

Why Stories Matter

Story sharing is at the heart of much of Families for Safe Streets’ advocacy work.
Research shows that stories can make information more memorable and can influence decision-makers. But Aly also recognizes something equally important:
Sharing your story can be empowering, and it can also be incredibly difficult.
That is why Families for Safe Streets does not simply ask people to tell their stories and send them on their way.
They work to create a foundation of support around the process.
Aly provides one-on-one guidance from the time someone joins the organization and throughout their involvement. The organization also provides training and support to help people understand how to share their experiences in ways that feel appropriate for them.
You get to decide what you share, when you share it, and how you participate.

You Can Start Wherever You Are

If you are interested in connecting with Families for Safe Streets, you do not have to know exactly what you need before you reach out.
One of the easiest places to start is by becoming a member.
Once you join, you can be connected with a local chapter when one is available in your area. Chapters are supported by sponsor organizations and provide opportunities for community gatherings, programs, advocacy, and connection.
You can also:
And if you do not see exactly what you need, you can reach out directly. Their team can help you figure out what might be a good next step.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Families for Safe Streets is also a co-planner of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in the United States, a national event taking place in communities across the country on the third Sunday in November.
The event provides an opportunity to remember those who have been killed or injured in road traffic incidents and to call attention to the need for safer roads and transportation systems.
The World Day of Remembrance website includes resources for people who want to attend an event or organize one in their own community.

You Can Be Supported While You Make Change

One of the things that stood out in our conversation with Aly is that support and advocacy do not have to be separate.
You can be grieving and still want change.
You can be healing and still want to help others.
You can be overwhelmed and still take one small step.
And you do not have to do any of it alone.
Families for Safe Streets exists to walk alongside people affected by crashes, whether that means helping you find a peer mentor, connecting you with resources, giving you a place to share your story, or helping you find a way to turn your experience into action.
As Aly shared, you are not alone.
It may feel that way sometimes, but there is a powerful community of people who understand and are ready to hold and guide you.
Watch the full Resource Conversation to learn more about Families for Safe Streets.
By Seantae Jackson
Resource Conversation YouTube Thumbnails
Post-Trauma LifeResource ConversationsSupport and CaregivingYou Are Not Alone
May 15, 2026

Personalized Recovery Support After Trauma

Resource Conversation with Matt Kalina from TandemStride

Recovery doesn’t end at discharge.

For many survivors and caregivers, that moment—leaving the hospital—is where a new kind of uncertainty begins. There’s often relief, but also hesitation, fear, and a very real question: what happens now?

This resource conversation with Matt Kalina from TandemStride focuses on that exact transition point, and how personalized, trauma-informed support can help people feel less alone in it.

These conversations are designed to give motor vehicle incident survivors and their caregivers practical tools, guidance, and support as they move through recovery—especially in the spaces where systems often fall short.

A Personal Beginning to the Work

Matt’s connection to this work is deeply personal.

His brother was involved in a pedestrian train accident 14 years ago and became a bilateral amputee at age 23. That experience shaped Matt’s understanding of what recovery can feel like when there is no roadmap—when you are trying to rebuild your life while also trying to understand what that life will even look like.

Later, after a decade of building healthcare technology, Matt kept seeing the same gap repeat itself: even with advances in medicine and systems, trauma survivors were still often left feeling alone after discharge, without clear guidance or connection.

TandemStride was built from that gap.

The Space After the Hospital

One of the most consistent challenges in trauma recovery is the transition from acute care to home.

Hospital discharge is often treated as an endpoint, but for survivors and caregivers, it can feel like the beginning of the hardest part. There is often hesitation, resistance, and uncertainty about what recovery actually looks like day to day.

TandemStride was designed to support that exact transition—helping people move from structured hospital care back into everyday life with more guidance, connection, and support.

The platform is used primarily by survivors with physical traumatic injuries such as spinal cord injuries, amputations, polytrauma, major fractures, burns, gunshot wounds, and violent crimes. Most users join within 7–14 days of discharge, though support is available at any point in recovery.

A Different Kind of Recovery Support

At the core of TandemStride is a simple idea: recovery shouldn’t be something you navigate alone.

The platform uses insights from thousands of trauma survivor journeys to better understand when challenges typically arise—such as mental health changes, substance use risk, or other barriers that can show up later in recovery.

Instead of waiting for those challenges to become crises, TandemStride works to identify patterns early and offer support proactively.

That includes:

  • Connecting survivors with peer mentors (often matched by injury type or age at injury)
  • Helping users find local resources through guided navigation
  • Offering caregiver and survivor-facing tools inside a single platform
  • Supporting both passive and active engagement, depending on what feels manageable

Get the App

TandemStride is available on the App Store and Google Play.

It is free to download and use, with some features varying depending on regional partnerships or programs (such as certain state-based initiatives).

Meeting People Where They Are

When users first open the TandemStride app, they are met with a simple question: What is your biggest challenge right now?

From there, the experience is personalized. The app guides users toward resources based on what they need most in that moment, rather than forcing them through a one-size-fits-all system.

This “choose your own adventure” approach allows survivors to engage in a way that feels right for them—whether that’s actively exploring resources or simply having support available in the background.

Community, Connection, and Not Feeling Alone

A major focus of TandemStride is building connections between survivors who understand what each other is going through.

On May 20th, 2026 – the platform is launching a new Communities feature designed specifically for trauma survivors.

Inside these communities, users can:

  • Check in daily or share updates and milestones
  • Connect with others going through similar experiences
  • Engage through likes, comments, or quiet observation
  • Use AI-supported tools to find local resources
  • Complete optional mental health screeners with guidance

Importantly, users can choose how they engage—there is no pressure to share more than they want to.

Trauma-Informed by Design

A key part of TandemStride’s approach is making sure the platform is safe and adaptable for people in different stages of recovery.

That includes features such as:

  • Content moderation to reduce exposure to triggering material
  • Options to label posts as “high intensity,” with user-controlled viewing
  • The ability to share without receiving advice or feedback
  • Topic filtering so users can control what they see

This design acknowledges something important: recovery is not just physical. Emotional safety matters too.

Small Steps Forward

TandemStride also includes a milestones feature that visually reflects progress over time.

As users engage, their milestone image gradually fills in—starting blank and slowly becoming more complete. It’s a simple but meaningful way to reflect growth, effort, and consistency in recovery.

It also serves as a reminder that progress is often made in small, quiet steps—not just big moments.

A Platform Built by Survivors, for Survivors

At its core, TandemStride is built around lived experience.

It is not just a technology platform—it is an attempt to create something that understands what it feels like to go through a life-altering injury and try to rebuild from there.

The intention is not to replace care teams or support systems, but to extend them—especially into the space where people often feel the most alone.

Why Social Support is Important in Trauma Recovery

A Closing Note

This conversation highlights something that is often overlooked in trauma recovery: the space between hospital and home matters just as much as what happens inside the hospital.

We are grateful to Matt Kalina and the TandemStride team for the work they are doing to bring more structure, connection, and humanity into that space.

A sincere thank you to TandemStride for sponsoring this episode and supporting efforts to make recovery more accessible and less isolating for survivors and caregivers.

Watch our full resource conversation with Matt Kalina from TandemStride about navigating recovery after traumatic injury, finding support after hospital discharge, and building connection through survivor-centered care.

By Seantae Jackson