Fort Belvoir Hosts Survivor Outreach Services Day

On Saturday, Fort Belvoir held Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) Day. The program was meant to promote awareness to those who have lost a loved one who was serving their country. Among the highlights was the issuance of decals to survivors to expedite visits to the post. But a full range of activities was offered.

One of the most important pieces of information that participants learned was to distinguish between beneficiaries and survivors. Beneficiaries are those specifically designated by the soldiers to receive benefits. They are usually, but not always, relatives. Whereas survivors can be family, they can also be a girlfriend/boyfriend, neighbors and friends. In short, all the loved ones of a veteran. They can all take advantage of the services provided by SOS.

The SOS program was established in 2009 and since October Maria Rodriguez has been the SOS Support Coordinator at Fort Belvoir. “Our real concern is outreach to our services, to locate them and let them know we are here.”

Rodriguez noted the primary offering of SOS is counseling and that Fort Belvoir is a little different from other bases like Pendleton and Bragg in that there aren’t as many persons deployed. There are a lot more retired personnel at Belvoir.

Those who SOS serves can range in age from 8 to 80. Previously, there was a six to twelve-month lag between the time a survivor spoke to a Casualty Assistance Officer, but that is changing, according to Rodriguez. “As the program evolves we are getting to people sooner,” she said.

Survivor services on Fort Belvoir are centrally located in the ACS Building off Belvoir Road.

“We don’t want survivors to have to go all over the post for what they need, so it’s consolidated,” said Travis Edwards, Fort Belvoir spokesperson.

For more information, Maria Rodriguez can be reached at 703.805.5487.