History

Families for Safe Streets was founded in New York City in 2014 by families of loved ones who were killed or injured in crashes. The early success in New York City showed the power of grassroots advocacy to create life-saving change.

As FSS won major legislative and policy victories in New York, other local advocacy organizations took notice, asking how they could establish an FSS chapter.

The Portland chapter was founded in 2015. When Kristi Finney-Dunn's son Dustin, killed by a drunk driver in 2010, learned about the New York chapter of Families for Safe Streets and reached out to local safe streets advocates. With support from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Oregon Walks and PBOT, Finney-Dunn connected with Susan Kubota, David Sale, and Kim Stone to found a chapter in Portland. Families for Safe Streets is now a national organization with chapters all across the country.