Brake

Support for bereaved and seriously injured victims of road crashes.

Brake offers emotional support, help and information to anyone who has experienced a death or serious injury in a road crash, their carers and professionals working with them.
Brake’s services include:

  • A specialist, freephone helpline, 0808 8000 401 or [email protected], open 10am-4pm weekdays. Run by experienced professionals, the helpline offers emotional support, practical information, guidance on criminal justice system procedures, help overcoming problems or getting answers to questions, and help accessing services like counselling, group support or legal advice.
  • Support packs and books, handed to families by police following all road deaths and available at brake.org.uk/support. They include information on practical and emotional matters following road death and injury and are available for families bereaved by crashes in England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, serious injury victims, and bereaved children. Information in them can be explained over the phone or they can be ordered in hard copy through the Brake helpline.

Who we support...

‘Brake's helpline is for people living in the UK who have been bereaved or have suffered a serious injury in a road crash. This includes boyfriends and girlfriends of people who have died and close friends too. If a road death has happened abroad Brake can also provide support to family and friends living in the UK.

The helpline is also available to anyone who cares for people bereaved or injured in a road crash. This includes, for example, police family liaison officers, emergency service workers, counsellors, and teachers. We can support professionals by helping them to provide the best possible support to road crash victims, and also by supporting them directly if they were involved in the immediate aftermath of a fatal or serious crash and feel traumatized as a result.

The helpline is not available to people who caused or witnessed a fatal or serious injury crash, unless the casualties were family or close friends’

What we can help with...

  • Advice
  • Help for children
  • Specialist helpline
  • Emotional support, practical information, guidance on criminal justice system procedures, help overcoming problems or getting answers to questions, and help accessing services like counselling, group support or legal advice.

Areas...

  • Knowsley
  • Liverpool
  • Sefton
  • St Helens
  • Wirral

Opening hours...

Open 10am-4pm weekdays.