Giving voice back to stroke survivors

Each year, more than 12 million people worldwide experience a stroke. For many, recovery involves relearning how to walk, think, and communicate. Some regain their speech fully. Others live with long-term motor-speech challenges that make verbal communication difficult or impossible.

Today, on World Stroke Day, we’re proud to announce our partnership with Stroke Onward. Founded by stroke survivors, Stroke Onward helps people navigate the emotional and identity challenges of rebuilding life after a stroke. Together, we aim to make voice restoration technology available to everyone who needs it, and to strengthen the community of those rebuilding life after stroke.

Bringing voice restoration to the stroke survivor community

Through this partnership, individuals affected by permanent speech loss can now apply for the ElevenLabs Impact Program. Approved applicants receive free access to our advanced voice cloning and Text to Speech tools, allowing them to create and use a digital voice that represents them authentically.

For those living with dysarthria or other motor-speech impairments, this technology can help restore a vital part of their identity. It enables them to communicate naturally with loved ones, participate in conversations, and express themselves in their own voice.

Stroke Onward Community Circle

Stroke Onward has also launched the Stroke Onward Community Circle (SOCC)—a free, online community where survivors, carepartners, and professionals connect around the emotional and identity sides of recovery.

In a world that often focuses only on physical rehabilitation, SOCC creates space for everything else—the emotional, invisible, and deeply personal parts of rebuilding life after stroke. Members can join live events, share experiences, and access curated tools that support emotional recovery.

By introducing ElevenLabs voice technology into this community, we hope to empower members to rediscover and reclaim their voices as a part of that recovery process.

Our shared goal

Nous croyons que chacun devrait pouvoir s'exprimer avec sa propre voix. En collaborant avec Stroke Onward, nous aidons les personnes vivant avec une perte de la parole, en veillant à ce que la technologie soit un facilitateur, et non un obstacle, à la connexion humaine.

On World Stroke Day, we’re reminded that recovery from stroke is about more than physical healing. It’s about rebuilding identity, connection, and purpose. Together with Stroke Onward, we aim to make that journey more accessible, helping survivors regain their voices and their sense of self.

Learn more about the partnership and how to apply.