Andrea Grant was 9 years old when a gas explosion tore through her family's Westside Jacksonville home in 2001, badly burning her and her brother. Twenty-five years later, she's opening the doors of her third annual Beyond Scars retreat to nearly 40 women burn survivors gathering in her hometown starting Friday.
The three-day event, running from Friday through Sunday, includes a pajama party bonding session, a full day of pampering at an expo, photo shoots, and a formal dinner, according to Action News Jax. Grant said she created the gathering as a space where burn survivors could come together, and Beyond Scars is having its biggest year yet as the retreat returns to Jacksonville.
Grant was airlifted to Shriners Children's Texas in Galveston for specialized treatment after the explosion critically injured her, according to background compiled by the BEP Foundation, which notes she spent months undergoing surgeries and physical therapy. Her recovery didn't end there. Grant formed Beyond Scars to build confidence and mentorship for young burn survivors, an outgrowth of a 2012 holiday outreach effort called “12 Families, One Movement,” per the same organization's account, and she spent years running monthly support groups and confidence workshops before the annual retreat took shape.
A Viral Photo That Changed Everything
Grant became a mother after doctors had told her scar tissue would prevent her from carrying a pregnancy past four months, according to Action News Jax. In September 2016, a maternity photoshoot taken by Jacksonville photographer Terrance Armand captured that moment — and the images exploded online, drawing more than 52,000 combined likes and thousands of shares within 24 hours, as reported by Boston 25 News. Grant's popularity grew beyond Jacksonville, and she formed a group to help burn victims.
Beyond Scars launched its annual retreat for women burn survivors in 2024, and this year marks the organization's biggest year yet. Grant said she expects the empowerment gained at the retreat to carry survivors back to their own communities feeling stronger. “You can have physical scars, you can have mental scars, emotional scars” and “you have to keep going,” Grant said, according to Action News Jax's report.
Local Media Push Ahead of Retreat
Grant appeared on Hot 106.5's public affairs program Front Page Jacksonville with host Wanda P. on September 13 to promote the retreat and advocate for local burn survivors, according to the station. The broadcast typically focuses on pressing community issues affecting African American residents in Jacksonville, giving Grant's advocacy a wider local audience just ahead of this weekend's gathering.
Why Female-Focused Recovery Spaces Matter
National data underscores why a retreat built specifically for women carries weight. Women account for just 34% of all hospital burn admissions in the United States, compared to 66% for men, according to the American Burn Association. That same data shows 61% of burn injuries nationwide happen inside private residences, with flame or flash burns accounting for 46% of cases — the kind of accident that upended Grant's childhood.
The American Burn Association's own patient guidelines recommend structured social re-entry tools, including what's known as a “three-sentence strategy,” to help survivors navigate public stares, questions, and body image anxiety.
Jacksonville's Past Gas Incidents
The city has seen its own gas safety emergencies in recent years, including a July 2019 explosion at the Calloway Cove complex that critically burned four residents and later prompted federal housing investigations, as Hoodline previously reported. Those incidents place Grant's own childhood survival, and her decision to build a support network around it, within a broader pattern of residential gas risk that Jacksonville families continue to navigate.
