ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the role of voluntary community groups in provision of support to people affected by road trauma. A number of existing voluntary community organisations offer services to road accident survivors in the UK, the USA, and elsewhere. Self-help groups can be thought of as being that community’s response to the serious problem of the devastation caused by road accidents, which does not get the attention it deserves. Self-help and voluntary groups therefore offer other avenues of support to people suffering emotionally after accidents. The chapter outlines the structure and function of these groups and later gives a detailed description of the development of one such group in Australia, the Road Trauma Support Team (RTST). As with any new voluntary organisation the RTST has faced challenges, and it is due largely to the vision, persistence and ongoing work of the founder and the members that so much has been achieved.
