It has been 10 years since Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) started its educational outreach about street safety … and what a difference 10 years can make.

By Mary O’KEEFE

SAFE began as the mission of Damian Kevitt to just “finish the ride.” Since the beginning of his non-profit, Kevitt has been able to get people to take part in his organization. Many of whom had never been part of a non-profit but believed in his mission to save lives and to stop what happened to him from happening again. Many joined the movement without knowing Kevitt’s origin story; however, after hearing it they became even more devoted to the cause. 

In February 2013 Kevitt was cycling in Griffith Park when he was struck by a vehicle that did not stop. Kevitt was trapped under the vehicle, which drove onto the 5 Freeway, and was dragged a quarter of a mile until he finally freed himself. The episode nearly killed him but he fought back. Despite losing his leg, while in the hospital he decided to finish the ride he had started that day – and he was going to do whatever it took to make sure streets were safe for cyclists and pedestrians alike. 

One year later, he did finish the ride, along with hundreds of his closet friends and complete strangers who wanted to support his mission. According to the SAFE website, Finish the Ride supports the life-saving strategies of Streets Are For Everyone – SAFE – to make roads safer for all road users. 

In 2015 Kevitt ran the LA Marathon, something while still in his hospital bed he told his wife and mom he was going to do. 

“I didn’t know what he was made of until this happened,” said Kevitt’s mom, Michele Kirkland. “I thought he was pretty amazing already. I knew he was helping people all the time [with] counseling and he had incredible management skills … but I didn’t know what he was made of.”

“Carbon fiber,” Kevitt joked, referring to his prosthetic leg. 

And that, in part, explains what makes SAFE so successful. It takes on an incredibly serious issue of street safety but all the while at the ready there seems to be a joke and a positive attitude.

At a recent 10-year anniversary event, SAFE highlighted the many people and organizations that over the past decade have been key to its success. The event also touted what it has done so far including working with elected officials to support sensible legislation concerning pedestrian and cycling safety and producing public street safety campaigns. 

Kevitt’s wife Kylea-Rose leads a program that inspires, and funds, students in middle and high schools to create public service announcements (PSAs) that focus on safety. These PSAs can be seen in many areas, including on monitors at gas station pumps. The PSAs are powerful and unfiltered. 

There were several announcements about SAFE on the night of its anniversary celebration, however one that stood out was the creation of a program that helps support those who have been in accidents. This is led by SAFE director of Public Affairs Dayna Galbreath. 

“I had a lot of nurses,” Kevitt said of his recovery in the hospital after his accident. “I had a great team but [Galbreath] was my favorite nurse in the hospital, and then she made the crazy [decision] to step onto the board [of SAFE] as a volunteer,” Kevitt said.

He said she continued working as a nurse while she volunteered with the organization. Kevitt asked Galbreath to leave her nursing job and join his non-profit, at a considerable pay cut. She said yes.

“And she has been working at SAFE ever since,” he said. 

It was her idea to create a program where victims of traffic collisions, including any cycling or pedestrian accidents, have a place to call to get support. This resource is not just for those who were involved in the accident but the countless others, including family members, who are affected by a traffic collision. 

SAFE is planning more outreach and more programs. It is working with an army of organizations that focus on street safety. It has built bridges between these organizations that are everlasting and considers 10 years as just the beginning as the SAFE organization opens chapters in other areas of California and even internationally. 

For information and to support SAFE visit www.streetsareforeveryone.org.