Stroke Survivor 2 Survivor (SS2S)

The American Stroke Association and Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other share a desire to improve the health and quality of life of the more than 9 million Americans who are stroke survivors. Experiencing a stroke can often feel traumatic and isolating, and we want to ensure that survivors and caregivers know they are not alone. We're here to help every step of the way.

That's why our organizations are working together to make the Stroke Survivor 2 Survivor (SS2S) program available at no charge to hospitals across the nation.

SS2S is a telephone-based peer support program for stroke survivors and their caregivers. Support calls are made by stroke survivor and stroke caregiver volunteers with special training and are overseen by a local hospital on-site coordinator. With tools provided through the SS2S program, the health care facility and volunteers encourage stroke survivors to better manage their own health while offering support, guidance and resources for survivors’ recovery.

The SS2S program offers many benefits. During the recently concluded expanded pilot of SS2S, volunteers reached more than 600 stroke survivors and caregivers completing over 1,000 support calls. Participants who completed the post-participation survey identified “helped” and “hopeful” as the terms that best described their experience with the SS2S program. Six in 10 also indicated that they would recommend participating in the program to other newly discharged stroke survivors, and 59% reported that their participation helped them with challenges they faced.

Additionally, on-site coordinators and volunteers implementing SS2S see its value, with 100% of on-site coordinator survey respondents indicating they plan to continue implementing SS2S.

To connect with American Stroke Association staff to learn more about implementing SS2S at your health care facility, please fill out the form.