Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors

Taps national military survivor seminars: taps hosts two national events annually: the national military survivor seminar and good grief camp and the national military suicide survivor seminar and good grief camp. These two, multi-day events bring survivors together with leading authorities on grief and trauma so they can learn coping skills and healthy grieving techniques. These events provide evidence-informed safe spaces for growth, the opportunity for survivors to honor the lives and service of their loved ones, connections to a vital, long-term support network, and the foundation for healthy grieving and resilience for their future. The national military survivor seminar and good grief camp take place over memorial day weekend in washington, d.c., and the national military suicide survivor seminar and good grief camp are held in the fall with carefully designed programming and expert speakers that address the specific grief a survivor of suicide loss might face. To reach as many military survivors throughout the year as possible, taps also hosts a series of regional seminars, taps togethers, care groups, and other local events around the country that bring the hope, healing, and connection of the national military survivor seminar closer to home.

Peer-based emotional support and survivor care: taps was founded on the principle of peer based emotional support, survivors helping survivors heal. Through our survivor care team and 24/7 live answer national military survivor helpline, we continue our 30 year legacy of serving survivors of military loss with compassion and understanding that can only come from a team of peers. Our survivor care team is composed of military survivors who provide inclusive and professional peer based emotional support to embrace, engage, and empower survivors at every phase of their grief journey. Our helpline is answered any time, day or night, by a knowledgeable and empathetic peer who is ready to listen and connect survivors to the services they seek. The support and resources taps provides to military survivors are customized to meet the needs of each individual. We ensure they are appropriate to the survivor's age, phase of grief, manner of loss, and relationship to the deceased, effective guides for healthy grieving, and proven to enhance quality of life. In 2024, our helpline answered more than 18,900 calls from survivors, each call an opportunity to provide emotional support and connect survivors to vital taps resources. Our casework team resolved more than 6,500 cases and identified more than 584 million dollars in education benefits for military and veteran survivors. [24/7 national military survivor helpline, survivor care team, peer mentors, resource kits, community resources, counseling connections, casework assistance, education services]bereavement education and training: the taps institute for hope and healing empowers the bereaved and bridges the gap between experts and those grieving through grief, resilience, and mental health and wellness education. In 2024, more than 5,600 individuals registered for taps institute courses. A sought after resource around the world, the institute features insightful programs and training delivered by experts in the fields of grief, trauma, and suicide, applicable to supporting survivors across generations. Taps is recognized as the subject matter expert in grief, suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, and trauma, and provides regular trainings for military casualty offices, the department of defense, and the va. We serve on advisory boards that guide the care of survivors following a death in the military or veteran community. Taps institute provides courses and continuing education to survivors, social workers, nurses, funeral directors, casualty officers, chaplains, grief professionals, trauma counselors, and many others. Our unique program design and delivery has solidified taps as the standard bearer for peer based emotional support for the sudden, unexpected, and traumatic loss, and we will continue to evolve our programs and services based on research, best practices, and the needs of the military survivor community.