AirCraft Casualty Emotional Support Services (ACCESS)

AirCraft Casualty Emotional Support Services, known as ACCESS, is a national non-profit that supports people affected by air disasters. It is based in New York and San Francisco, and its contact address is in San Francisco. It was set up in 1996 by Heidi Snow.

Heidi Snow founded the group after she lost her fiance in the TWA Flight 800 crash on 17 July 1996. The site says ACCESS is the only organization that pairs survivors and families of air disaster victims with trained volunteers who have faced a similar loss.

The main service is grief mentoring. ACCESS has 250 trained volunteer grief mentors. They support people affected by commercial, private, helicopter and military air disasters. The site says support is available straight after a crash and for months or years later.

ACCESS also gives sensitivity training and consulting to airlines, companies and agencies that respond to people affected by air disasters. The about page names groups it has trained, including Southwest Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, JetBlue Airways, SkyWest Airlines, the National Transportation Safety Board and the American Red Cross.

Other parts of the work include a book called Surviving Sudden Loss, charity events such as a golf tournament, and training retreats for volunteers. The website has a Get Help form, a contact form and a way to donate or volunteer.