I have lived with a debilitating illness myself since I was in high school.
As I navigated an extremely difficult, massive, complex five-year career transition, I began volunteering at MD Anderson working with patients-bedside on the leukemia floor and with post-surgical head and neck cancer patients. "A lot of these children never had an opportunity to grieve until they come to a TAPS event.In the spring of 2020 as Covid befell, during the same months I was sunsetting my first vocation spent twenty years as an English professor and university administrator, I came upon a quote, “The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” – Frank Lloyd WrightĪs the world changed, this quote became my North Star, my goal, my faith and trust that with the help of others, it is possible for a person to build a life that one step at a time, becomes one’s own individual love story. "Most importantly our biggest function is creating that safe space for them to grieve the loss of their loved one," said Carl Gilbert, chief warrant officer, U.S. They are partnered with an active duty or veteran service member to help provide support and guidance.
"So, it is really special to have a place where surviving family members can come together, make those connections and really build that family," said McHugh-Stewart.įor younger children and teens, there is a TAPS Good Grief Camp. "I know that she had a man that raised her to be a strong woman, and she knows from me we are still going and to me that is the best thing to honor our dads," said Shannon. The two met for the first time and bonded over their shared experiences. Rhea Shannon and Kelly McHugh-Stewart both lost their fathers in 2010 in Afghanistan. "The war followed many of our service members home, and whether they died by suicide as a result of post traumatic stress, or illnesses as a result of exposures to toxins, or an accident or any other way, regardless of the moment and the manner, this is about the years of the life and service." Last year, TAPS assisted more than 9,000 newly grieving military families. It provides military families with peer support, professional counseling and a way to honor their loves ones. "I lost my husband in an Army plane crash along with seven other soldiers, and at that time there was no national program," said Bonnie Carroll, TAPS founder.Ĭarroll is the founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program, or TAPS. TAPS is an organization that assists thousands of families each year who have lost servicemen or women. (KABC) - Grieving military families have an outlet to help them heal during times of tragedy. "TAPS" is an organization that assists thousands of families each year who have lost servicemen or women. Grieving military families have an outlet to help them heal during times of tragedy.
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