JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Military service members can give the ultimate sacrifice for their country. But their families are the ones left dealing with the loss.
That is something TAPS founder Bonnie Carroll knows firsthand.
“My husband was killed in the Army along with seven other soldiers in a military plane crash. At that time there was no organization for all those grieving the death of a military loved one,” said Bonnie Carroll.
That’s how TAPS, short for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, got started.
Nearly 30 years later it helps hundreds of thousands of military families express and heal from grief.
Westley Culp, 14, joined TAPS when he was just 6 years old. He lost his father to suicide.
“When I started off, I didn’t have much feeling about it. I was young. It was more of just ignoring and putting it down and not worrying about it. Then I came here and it kind of lets you open up and lets you know that it’s more than just you at this situation,” Culp said.
In 2021, research found that 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 died by suicide.
This heavily outweighs the number of service members killed in combat in those same 20 years, according to the United Service Organizations.
TAPS holds individual group sessions for adults and kids. It’s a safe space for discussions. It’s not all heavy though.
“I love it here and I have the best camp and the best friends I would ever have, and I would never want to leave here and if I could live here,” said Caspian Camron, TAPS participant.
For more information on how to participate visit TAPS.org.