About AVA
Accident Victim Assistance was formed to be the first phone call a family can make after a serious accident — before the paperwork, before the insurance calls, before the legal decisions. We answer that phone 24 hours a day, in English and in Spanish, at no cost to the family.
Every day, families in the United States face the sudden loss of a loved one or the life-changing injury of a family member in a car, truck, or workplace accident. In the first 72 hours, the decisions they are asked to make — about funeral homes, insurance forms, autopsy reports, medical care, and attorneys — will shape the rest of their lives. Most families face those decisions alone. We exist so they don't have to.
What we do
- Immediate outreach and emotional support from trained volunteers, available 24/7
- Funeral-expense grants when a family cannot cover the cost of burial or memorial services
- Living-expense grants when the loss or injury of a breadwinner puts the family at risk of missing rent, utilities, or basic needs
- Free consultations with an Experienced National Trial Lawyer — an independent attorney of the family's choice, with no obligation and no referral fee to AVA
- Referrals to grief counselors, victim advocates, and community resources
How we're funded
AVA is funded by private donations. We do not receive attorney referral fees. We do not take a percentage of any legal settlement. We do not sell information to marketing lists. When we make a grant, 100% of that grant goes to the family or directly to a vendor (funeral home, landlord) on the family's behalf.
Our commitment to families
- You will speak with a human being, at any hour, in English or Spanish.
- You will never be pressured to choose a specific attorney, funeral home, or service provider.
- Your information will not be sold, shared with advertisers, or used to build marketing lists.
- You can decline a referral, withdraw an application, or ask us to delete your information at any time.
- Our grants come from limited donor funds — we cannot guarantee an amount, but we treat every family with the same seriousness.
Contact us
24 hours a day, in English or Spanish:
- Phone: (888) 996-8814 or (202) 440-5214
- Email: help@avahelp.org
- Mail: 2150 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037