The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors has launched its Grief-Informed Peer Support model, which connects military families who have experienced the loss of a loved one with trained peers who have experienced similar losses.
The new model integrates the TAPS Bereavement Model with the nationally recognized Reciprocal Peer Support (RPS) framework.
“The TAPS Grief-Informed Peer Support approach is built on shared experience,” said Cherie Castallano, TAPS Vice President of Survivor Services and nationally recognized peer support expert.
“From the very first moment of outreach, TAPS intentionally matches survivors with Peer Mentors who understand key parts of their story, including relationship to the person who died, branch of service, and circumstances of the death. This helps survivors feel seen, often for the first time since their loss,” she said.
TAPS Peer Mentors undergo days of interactive training that include role-playing and scenario-based learning that is divided into five intensive modules that helps them master pure presence, risk assessment, and resiliency affirmation.
The training also includes specific considerations for traumatic loss, including suicide, where survivors may face increased isolation, stigma, and risk.
TAPS was created 30 years ago by survivors for survivors, with 85 percent of staff being survivors themselves.
“Every day, survivors come to TAPS in the rawest moments of grief,” said Bonnie Carroll, President and Founder of TAPS and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. “For more than 30 years, we have promised them that they will not walk alone. This model strengthens that promise and ensures every survivor is met by someone who understands and knows how to walk with them.”
TAPS is also piloting the approach internationally, including support for military widows and suicide loss survivors in Australia and Ukraine.
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Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.