One of the most powerful things about the Road Victims Trust is also one of the most humbling: the extraordinary commitment of our volunteer counsellors.

This month’s blog shines a light on the unique role they play in supporting individuals and families affected by fatal and life-changing road collisions.

At the heart of RVT’s service is a dedicated group of 73 trained counsellors. Each of them volunteers their time and skills to provide emotional support to those facing the unimaginable — the sudden, traumatic loss of a loved one, or a life irreversibly changed in an instant. These aren’t just kind-hearted volunteers. They are qualified professionals who bring both compassion and clinical rigour to the work they do. And they give the greatest gift anyone can offer — their time. They make a quiet but powerful commitment for the benefit of others who are less fortunate — people who may be facing the darkest period of their lives.

Before supporting clients, every RVT counselling volunteer completes a specialist five-week training programme, focused specifically on the impact of road death and the unique trauma it creates. This training is designed and delivered by our brilliant RVT staff, whose knowledge, empathy, and experience ensure that volunteers are not only equipped with therapeutic skills, but also with a deep understanding of the legal, emotional, and procedural realities that bereaved families face in the aftermath of a collision.

This means our clients are supported by someone who truly understands — someone who can hold space for their grief, make sense of the practical aftermath, and walk alongside them as they begin the long and often painful journey of emotional recovery.

We work closely with the police and coroners, and our volunteers are able to support individuals at any stage — whether the collision happened days ago or many months prior. The service is entirely free, and entirely client-led.

We are incredibly proud of the volunteers who make this possible. They embody the values of the RVT: empathy, professionalism, and consistency. They are trusted companions at the most difficult time in someone’s life — and their impact is life-changing.

Volunteer Voice – Suzanne’s Perspective

By Suzanne Jode, RVT Volunteer Counsellor

When someone’s life is shattered by a road traffic collision whether through serious injury or the sudden, traumatic loss of a loved one it can feel as though time stops. The world continues turning, but for them, everything has changed.

As a volunteer counsellor with Road Victims Trust (RVT), I’ve had the privilege of supporting people through these deeply painful and life-altering experiences. My role is to offer a compassionate, confidential space where they can explore the impact of what’s happened, express their grief or trauma, and begin to make sense of life in the aftermath.

Some clients come to me having experienced serious injury where they are facing not only physical recovery but emotional and psychological wounds that are often invisible to others. Others are navigating the devastating effects of sudden and traumatic bereavement, trying to comprehend the loss of a much-loved person in an instant.

In every case, I have witnessed an extraordinary strength emerge. Through tears, silence, confusion, anger, and reflection, many clients gradually begin to reconnect with parts of themselves and build a sense of who they are now.

This isn’t about ‘moving on’ or fixing anything, it’s about being with someone in their truth, without judgment or pressure. As Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, “Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health.” That’s what we offer at RVT; a space where safety, trust, and support allow healing to begin.

Grief is not a straight line. It is not a process to complete, or a pain to “get over.” It is deeply individual that is shaped by the relationship, the loss, and the life around it. No two people will grieve the same way, nor should they be expected to.

I believe grief is a continuous cycle, not a moment in time, but an evolving part of who we are. It revisits us in waves. Waves that are sometimes fierce and sometimes soft. As Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, renowned for her work on grief, once said: “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss… You will learn to live with it. You will heal and rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered.”

At RVT, we hold space for that lifelong journey. We bear witness. We offer presence. And while we cannot take away the pain, we can honour it—and the person who feels it—with care, compassion, and deep respect.

References:

• Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2005). On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss. Scribner.

• Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.

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As always, I want to thank every single volunteer, staff member, trustee, and supporter who contributes to this work. We are stronger because of you — and so are the individuals and families that we support.

If you’re reading this as someone outside the organisation, I hope it gives you a clearer sense of what happens behind the scenes — and the human dedication that sits at the heart of post-collision care.

Paul Cook
Chief Executive