Mission

The Indiana National Guard’s Survivor Outreach Services program is a holistic, multi-agency approach to delivering services to survivors by providing these services at garrisons and communities closest to where survivor families live.

The brave men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten by SOS and a grateful state and nation. The SOS program demonstrates our commitment to families of the fallen. We continually strive to expand and improve our services to survivors, improve responsiveness and streamline the assistance process for families.

Know that you are not alone, and that we are here for all surviving families. Please do not hesitate to contact SOS if we can be of assistance in any way. We encourage you to share our contact information with other survivor families you come into contact with, regardless of branch of service.

Services

Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Connecting families to grief and financial counseling services
• Linking survivors to other survivors for long-term support
• Assisting with federal and state benefits as needed
• Organizing and hosting the annual Survivor Transition and Resilience
• Retreat (STARR)
• Advocating for and building community partnerships on behalf of surviving families

Survivor Transition and Resilience Retreat (STARR)

Since September 11, 2001, U. S. Armed Forces have deployed thousands of Indiana soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in support of overseas contingency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations. You know all too well that many of our brave service members did not return from their deployments.

Our Indiana TAPS Program, “Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors,” began in 2008 after a spouse of one of our fallen heroes spoke passionately about attending such an event in Washington, D.C. She described how this program allowed her and her children to connect with other military families experiencing the loss of their loved ones, and suggested we consider such an event for our Indiana families who have lost a loved one in service to their country. The Indiana National Guard has been honored to host this program.

As a result of these past survivor weekend retreats, we have received feedback from the families that have attended. Although the TAPS program partnership has been a much needed and rewarding experience, we recognize that it is time for something new and different.

The Indiana Survivor Outreach Services Team created the STARR – Survivor Transition and Resilience Retreat program which allows us to customize our retreat every year based off our Surviving Families’ needs, wants and desires.

For more information, please contact 317-247-3300, Ext. 85457.