Fix It Forward: When a Safe Car Becomes a Safer Future

Christopher Perez has spent his adult life learning what service looks like under pressure. After 13 years in the United States Air Force, he entered the nonprofit world of domestic violence and sexual assault victim services, first as a board treasurer, then helping secure enough funding to create a paid Program Coordinator/LGBTQ+ Advocate position, and ultimately supporting the opening of the first domestic violence shelter in his city and county. Over time, he gained deep expertise in 501(c)(3) finances, grant management, program operations, and survivor advocacy, and he kept noticing the same crisis point: when a survivor’s car breaks down, everything can stall.

A vehicle isn’t just transportation. It’s the ability to get to work, show up to court, pick up children, access medical care, and keep distance from harm. Perez saw that survivors and victim advocates often had the same painful conversation: safety planning was underway, resources were lined up, but a failing car made the plan fragile.

That’s where Driving Change began: an early-stage initiative led by Christopher Perez and Fix it Forward Inc. to provide trauma-informed automotive repair services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The concept is simple and urgent: remove a barrier that can quietly undo progress.

With support from The Pollination Project, Christopher and his team were able to fund essential vehicle repairs, including new tires, TPMS valve stems, brake rotors, brake pads, and related labor costs, restoring vehicles to safe operating condition.

That support matters because repairs can’t wait for perfect timing. A survivor who misses work risks losing income. A missed court date can carry consequences. A delayed medical appointment can escalate health issues. The Pollination Project’s seed funding helped make it possible to respond quickly, covering safety-critical repairs when a vehicle needed attention immediately.

“The Pollination Project grant reinforced something survivors and advocates already know,” Perez shared. “Reliable transportation can determine whether someone can keep moving forward—toward stability, safety, and independence.”

With $485 in support, The Pollination Project helped fund essential repairs that restored vehicles to safe operating condition. Those repairs included:

• Four new tires, TPMS valve stems, and labor

• Brake rotors and brake pads

These aren’t cosmetic fixes. They’re the repairs that keep a car stable on the road and able to stop safely, repairs that reduce risk in the moments survivors can least afford additional danger.

And the impact was immediate and deeply practical:

The project directly support two survivors with critical vehicle repairs, ensuring they could maintain employment, attend court and medical appointments, and access housing and support services without disruption. The team’s approach is intentionally trauma-informed: services are survivor-centered, streamlined, and designed to minimize additional stress while meeting a clear safety need.

As Perez puts it, “Survivors shouldn’t have to choose between a safe vehicle and the next step in their safety plan.”

Seed funding often does its most powerful work at the start, when a program is strong in vision but still building the infrastructure and community buy-in to sustain it. Driving Change used the momentum from TPP’s support not only to complete repairs, but to strengthen referral pathways and expand professional readiness across the community.

The project also trained 50 service providers and provided referral instruction to 30 law enforcement personnel, contributing to a total direct impact of 82 individuals. It included 2,600 volunteer hours, strengthening coordination, training, and survivor-centered service delivery.

Those hours represent a community choosing to build a system that responds faster and more effectively when survivors need help. Training service providers and law enforcement personnel strengthens the referral pipeline, so survivors can be connected to vehicle repair support through trusted professionals who understand the process and prioritize survivor autonomy.

Perez noted that this kind of coordination is essential: “When the system works smoothly, survivors spend less time explaining, waiting, and navigating—and more time getting what they need.”

Driving Change highlights a reality philanthropy sometimes overlooks: the barriers that shape safety and stability are often practical. They aren’t always solved by awareness campaigns or long timelines. Sometimes the decisive intervention is immediate and tangible: funding repairs that restore mobility, prevent job loss, and keep survivors connected to court, care, housing, and support services.

The Pollination Project’s early investment helped make that intervention possible, right when it mattered, demonstrating what seed funding can do when it trusts grassroots leadership and supports survivor-centered solutions.

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