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Road Trauma Families Victoria RAW2ROAR camp helping teens affected by road toll

They’ve lost brothers, sisters and parents to the road toll. Now a new initiative is helping the forgotten teens of road trauma.

Darren Edwards, 17, and mother Denise Edwards will attend a camp for teens impacted by road trauma. Picture: Peter Ristevski
Darren Edwards, 17, and mother Denise Edwards will attend a camp for teens impacted by road trauma. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Darren Edwards Jr was aged just 12 when brother Jesse died in a roadtrip crash.

But sadly, the now 17-year-old knows he’s not the only one to grow up dealing with the aftermath of tragedy on our roads.

His girlfriend has also lost a sibling and several mates have been left without loved ones.

All will next month attend a dedicated camp for teens touched by road trauma.

“It’s crazy to think how many people have gone through the same thing,’’ Darren, from Armstrong Creek, said.

“It’s hard to talk about but if you’ve got people there who know it tends to be easier.”

Darren said dealing with the loss of Jesse got more difficult in the immediate years after the crash.

The 19-year-old was travelling with mates to celebrate New Year’s on the Gold Coast when their car struck a tree in country NSW, also killing another teen.

Fatigue was a factor.

“When it happened I was too young to actually understand,’’ Darren said.

“As I got older I found it harder.

“You don’t ever get over it. You can’t do anything to bring them back. You’ve just got to focus on ways to deal with it. But it takes time.”

Darren Edwards, 17, and mother Denise Edwards will attend the Road Trauma Families Victoria camp at Anglesea. Picture: Peter Ristevski
Darren Edwards, 17, and mother Denise Edwards will attend the Road Trauma Families Victoria camp at Anglesea. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Mum Denise Edwards, a nurse, will attend the Road Trauma Families Victoria RAW2ROAR camp as a helper.

“When you are with other people that share the same trauma you don’t feel as alone,’’ she said.

“You can just be you.”

Organiser Margaret Markovic — whose 22-year-old son Daniel was killed by a drunk driver — said a counsellor, careers adviser, occupational therapist and police were all involved.

“These teens are watching their parents grieve with parents not sure what to do or how to cope themselves,’’ Ms Markovic said.

“Their whole lives have changed through no fault of their own.

“For them to be able to identify that they’re not on their own in what they’re struggling with is what the camp is there for.”

The camp, open to youths aged 12-17, runs at Anglesea from March 6-8.

Details: Phone 0481 960 222 or go to rtfv.org.au.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/road-trauma-families-victoria-raw2roar-camp-helping-teens-affected-by-road-toll/news-story/0590ee5a9269fe46742b10c9b67011f0