Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship
Since its inception Hope For The Warriors (HOPE) has strived to support the entire military through its programs, particularly spouses and caregivers. We all know that the entire family serves, and many continue to serve even after their warrior is out of the service due to injuries and unforeseen life changes from said injuries.
One of the many ways HOPE supports spouses and caregivers is through one of its first established programs, the Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship.
HOPE Awards Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarships twice a year.
Since 2006, the nationwide program recognizes and rewards post-9/11 spouses and caregivers for their strength, fidelity and resolve despite adversity as they assume critical roles in the financial well-being of their families.
Scholarships vary from $1,500 to $2,500 and are applied toward higher education at an accredited U.S. university, college, or trade school. Unique to the program is a scholarship for Master of Social Work students, Restoring Hope. Applicants can be accepted up to three times.
Meet Elizabeth Wilkins
Three of the 192 granted scholarships have been awarded to Elizabeth Wilkins of Texas. She knows firsthand what it’s like to care for a spouse with service-related injuries well after their service.
Wilkins met her husband, Joel, in 2008 during her senior year at Baylor University, in Waco, Texas. As their relationship grew, Joel navigated the requirements of a medical separation from the U.S. Army due to his combat wounds, while she worked to determine what path her professional career would take.
The next four years found Wilkins working as a historian for a small museum in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, marrying her husband in 2011 and moving back to the Texas but this time to Houston. There, she began substituting in schools and eventually running an afterschool/summer activities program at an elementary school.
While working with the students and being present for their day-to-day stressors such as school, friends, or divorced parents, Wilkins realized she was unable to help the children as well as she wanted in her current role.
“Working in the school, you see a lot of kids dealing with the emotions and stress of family issues. I wanted to be able to support them, but I couldn’t fully do that without being able to address the whole family.” said Wilkins.
This is where she found her calling to become a family counselor, and where she found HOPE.
Though she never had to sit through deployments, or a PCS, she and her husband slowly began to realize he was battling several injuries from PTSD to a TBI. While she was trying to figure out how to move forward with going back to school for her master’s, her husband was struggling to complete his degree.
“Every time he’d drop a course or skip a class, I would reassure myself that he only needed a little extra help and that he’d be okay,” Wilkins said. “Except, he wasn’t okay – and he wasn’t getting better.
“Since my husband was already out of the military when I met him, there wasn’t anyone in my sphere that understood what was going on with us. Thankfully, I was able to find a caregiver support group, Wounded Warrior Wives.
“I knew my husband was struggling, but I couldn’t get him to acknowledge he had anything more than a little anxiety and depression. It wasn’t until I was in my graduate program that I was able to convince him there was more going on.”
She credits her husband for being her biggest supporter. Even though he was still working to finish his degree, he encouraged her to pursue her dreams of a master’s family therapy program.
“I’d been waiting on my husband to finish school before I went back, but that wasn’t happening in the near future. My husband told me, ‘Don’t wait on me, do what you need to do.’”
And that’s what’s she did. In the fall of 2013, she began the intense master’s program at the University of Houston – Clear Lake.
She also had a little help from HOPE…..
Through her caregiver support group, she learned of the Hope For The Warriors Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship and was awarded the Honorary scholarships three times for those seeking a graduate or post-graduate degree. She credits HOPE and this scholarship for making her feel seen as military caregiver.
“Due to the timeline of my husband’s service and us meeting, this created a very specific type of isolation, getting the scholarship was very validating … I felt very seen and that meant a lot.”
Today, Wilkins is a licensed marriage and family 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 volunteers with Lone Star Veterans and 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.
“I love the fact this scholarship exists and that it can give the same sense of being seen and validated in their journey,” she shares. “Reading through the scholarship essays easily brings me back to the memories of my own time applying and working to get all the details figured out for going back to school. Connecting with those memories again, knowing how hard the applicants are working and what they’re going through and how this can help them feel like they’re not alone.”
She encourages all military spouses and caregivers to apply for the Hope For The Warriors Military Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship.
“The whole point of the scholarship is to offer help and support … make sure to apply and take an active role in allowing us to help you,” she shares.
Currently, the nonprofit is accepting applications through Sept. 30 for the spring 2023 semester. Just head to hopeforthewarriors.org and connect to services.
*Army Wife Network has more resources from HFTW available on their homepage.
Written by Erin McCloskey for Hope for the Warriors
