SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE

TAPS: SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE
OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO
TAPS SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO OFFERS COMFORT

Largest gathering ever held for military suicide survivors will draw more than 200 family members Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Task Force meets Thursday, Oct. 8 to hear from families.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 2, 2009

San Diego, Calif. – Families who have experienced death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military will find help and comfort in a suicide survivor seminar and Good Grief Camp offered October 8-11 by TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

“Experiencing the death of a loved one is difficult for any family, and suicide carries unique challenges because of the stigma associated with this type of loss,” said Kim Ruocco, director of suicide survivor education and support with TAPS. Ruocco’s husband, Marine Major John Ruocco, took his own life in 2005 three months after returning from a deployment in Iraq. “The family is left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and we’re here to help,” said Ruocco.

TAPS will hold peer mentoring training on Thursday, October 8. Peer mentoring training teaches survivors how to support each other through grief. As part of the training, survivors will also learn how to tell their story in an educational way, which empowers survivors to help others.

At the beginning of the seminar, the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, chaired by Major General Philip Volpe and co-chaired by TAPS founder and chairman Bonnie Carroll, will hold a meeting on Thursday, October 8. The task force will hear from surviving families that have experienced the death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military. The task force is preparing a report with recommendations and findings that will be presented to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. More information about the task force is available at http://www.health.mil/dhb/default.cfm

The surviving families left behind following a suicide ask many questions and seek to understand their loved one’s death. The TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar being held October 9-11 includes advice from experts to help families cope and support group time. The opening session will address common questions asked by suicide survivors with an address by Dr. Frank Campbell called, “The Canyon of Why: Metaphors for Healing from Sudden and Traumatic Loss.”
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SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE