(pictured left to right) Hope For The Warriors CEO Robin Kelleher and Hope For The Warriors Vigiano Family Hope and Courage award winner, caregiver Elizabeth Wilkins.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (August 31, 2022) – Houston resident and military caregiver Elizabeth Wilkins was recently named a recipient of the Vigiano Family Hope and Courage award at the Hope For The Warriors Summer Soiree.
Wilkins was one of three Vigiano Family Hope and Courage award winners, presented by World Series champion Doug Flynn and TV host John Daly. She was recognized for her journey as a military spouse and caregiver and her hours of volunteerism to veteran service organizations in Texas and with Hope For The Warriors.
“Elizabeth was left in a spot many military caregivers have been in – having an injured spouse and wanting to refocus her career to accommodate her family’s new reality,” said Robin Kelleher, Hope For The Warriors co-founder and CEO. “She came to Hope For The Warriors as a scholarship recipient and today, she’s paying it forward by serving on our scholarship committee making dreams come true for other military spouses and caregivers and we’re honored to have her support.”
Named in honor of the Vigiano family, who lost both of their sons in the September 11th attacks, the Hope and Courage Awards are presented to service members and military family members who have demonstrated both hope and courage in the face of extraordinary circumstances.
“I am grateful to receive the Vigiano Family Hope and Courage Award and feel humbled that Hope For The Warriors considered me as a candidate,” said Wilkins. “Hope For The Warriors helped me to feel seen and supported as a scholarship recipient almost 10 years ago when my husband’s unseen, untreated war wounds made every day a challenge. I am honored and moved by their decision to see me once again as they continue in their mission to support the veterans and their families.”
After her husband was injured while serving in the U.S. Army and later medically retired, Wilkins applied for a Hope For The Warriors Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship and was awarded three times while she was pursuing a master’s family therapy program at the University of Houston – Clear Lake. Today, she is a family and marriage therapist working with children, adolescents, and adults and specializes in treating trauma, anxiety, and relational difficulties.
She is master certified in accelerated resolution therapy, board-certified in both neurofeedback and biofeedback, and also offers traditional psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families in her clinical practice at the Tarnow Center for Self-Management, an interdisciplinary group practice in Houston.
In addition, she has volunteered with Lone Star Veterans and currently donating her time at Hope For The Warriors as a scholarship committee member. She has also assisted the Lone Survivor Foundation as a behavior consultant working at its therapeutic retreats.
She and her husband Joel, have a four-year-old, Bentley, and newborn daughter, Caroline.
For more information on Hope For The Warriors, visit hopeforthewarriors.org.
About Hope For The Warriors: Founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for post-9/11 veterans, service members and military families. Since its inception, Hope For The Warriors has served over 40,000 through a variety of support programs focused on health and wellness, sports and recreation and transition. One of the nonprofit’s first programs, Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarships, has awarded 192 scholarships to caregivers and families of the fallen. For more information, visit hopeforthewarriors.org, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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