Program areas at TAPS
Taps survivor programs: taps survivor programs create safe spaces for military Survivors to build community, connect with experts, gain healthy coping tools, increase overall well-being and self-confidence, and experience hope for life after loss. In 2023, taps hosted more than 1,300 events for Survivors of all ages and at all places in their journey through grief. Taps programs, including seminars, camps, care groups, taps togethers, youth programs, a young adult Program, women's empowerment, a men's Program, taps outdoors, and sports and entertainment, are designed and implemented from evidence- and research-based practices for supporting the sudden, unexpected, and traumatically bereaved across generations. In-person and virtual taps programs are held across the country throughout the year to meet Survivors where they are geographically and emotionally. We ensure that taps' compassionate care and peer support is never out of reach for any survivor of military loss. [care groups, taps togethers, youth programs, young adults Program, women's empowerment, men's Program, taps outdoors, sports and entertainment]
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 this team of military Survivors; they 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, 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 survivor. We ensure that they are: appropriate to the survivor'Survivors's age, phase of grief, manner of loss, and relationship to the deceased; effective guides for healthy grieving; and proven to enhance the survivor'Survivors's quality of life. In 2023, our helpline answered more than 20,600 calls from Survivors each call an opportunity to provide emotional support and connect Survivors to vital taps resources. Our casework team resolved more than 5,700 cases and identified more than $561 million 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 the bereaved through grief, resilience, and mental health and wellness education. In 2023, over 3,700 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 field of grief, trauma, and suicide applicable to supporting Survivors across generations. Taps institute provides courses and continuing education to Survivors, social workers, nurses, funeral directors, casualty officers, chaplains, grief professionals, trauma counselors, and many others. Further, our unique Program design and delivery has solidified taps as a subject-matter expert for both national and international initiatives supporting the bereaved and suicide pre- and postvention initiatives. Taps set the standard of design and implementation of peer-based emotional support for the sudden, unexpected, and traumatically bereaved, and we will continue to evolve our programs and services based on research, best practices, and the needs of the military survivor community.
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 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.