SPRINGFIELD, Va. — As the conflict in Iran intensifies, a Northern Virginia-based nonprofit is working to provide mental health support and wellness services to post-9/11 service members, veterans, military spouses, caregivers, and their families. Hope for the Warriors CEO and co-founder Robin Kelleher said the situation is already stirring difficult emotions for those who have served.
"When something like this comes up, a lot of times it triggers those emotions again. For those that went through Iraq and Afghanistan, they're in need as well," Kelleher said.
The nonprofit is connecting with military spouses and their families through peer mentor teams while offering support groups and facilitating conversations.
"They can hear that their feelings of concern or fear or the unknown are normal. There are other people feeling exactly the same way," Kelleher said. "Our immediate reaction right now is to be able to provide that kind of safe space."
Kelleher encouraged young spouses of military members, particularly those who may not have experienced a deployment before, to reach out through the Hope for the Warriors website.
"They're concerned and feeling and fearing, because they just don't know. So it's my job to make sure that what I learned and the friendships and the camaraderie that I built are something that we can pass down to this generation that's serving now," Kelleher said.
Kelleher's path to founding the organization began at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where she sought out resources while her Marine husband was deployed overseas during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but came up empty.
"My husband's first deployment was 2003. He deployed in 2003, 2005, and 2007 and we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into," Kelleher said.
What started as a phone tree for spouses in her husband's unit has grown into a full-time organization serving military families across the country.
"The organization was an opportunity for people to really come together, support each other at a time of a lot of unknown, uncertainty, fear and to fill in the gaps of resources that weren't available to military families," Kelleher said.
Hope for the Warriors also offers opportunities to connect with the community through food drives, a clinic, and programs like Warrior's Compass, a comprehensive career resource and coaching program for veterans and their families.
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