The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a loved one who died while serving in our Armed Forces or as a result of his or her service. Since 1994, TAPS has provided comfort and hope 24/7 through a national peer support network and connection to grief resources—all at no cost to surviving families and loved ones. TAPS has assisted more than 85,000 surviving families, casualty officers, and caregivers. It provides a variety of programs to survivors nation and worldwide. The TAPS National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp has been held annually in Washington, D.C., over Memorial Day weekend since 1994. TAPS also conducts regional survivor seminars for adults and youth programs at locations across the country, as well as retreats and expeditions around the world.
TAPS Suicide Prevention & Postvention is a division of TAPS that addresses the challenge of rising suicide rates across the country in recent years. This outward-facing team of dedicated TAPS professionals draws from a powerful combination of clinical expertise, survivors' "lived experience," and TAPS own best practices to help others get through the grief of suicide loss. In that last 10 years, TAPS has served more than 13,000 survivors of military-related suicide loss. It does so through the “Suicide Postvention Model of Support," a proven three-phase path to healthy healing that includes stabilization, grief work, and post-traumatic growth. The model offers a range of immediate services that help surviving family members on a stable and hopeful path to healing, guides them through a healthy journey of grieving, and ultimately helps them establish a new life after loss.