Meet Cathie Goodman | Cathie Goodman, Tim Kirk and Beth Weathers | Veteran Fighter Squadron 1838

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cathie Goodman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cathie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Actually, ours has been an experiment that has been very reactive to the needs that presented themselves. Tim served 25 years in the Air Force, and ended up in Sierra Vista working in an Army civilian role on Post after retiring from the military. He spent 3 years in Afghanistan, and experienced incredible trauma – like the kind that has caused therapists to say to him, “Tim, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to help you. I need to schedule a session with my therapist to process what you just told me.”

While working on Post, Tim struggled with PTSD and depression, among other invisible injuries from his service. He was matched up with the most stubborn coon hound on this planet while working with Soldier’s Best Friend (SBF), to train him and the dog so the dog could be certified as a service animal to help him with his night terrors. Tim was Josie’s third veteran, which added to the pressure to help Josie graduate, because it’s 3 strikes and out to glue factory for the dog. Additionally, Tim watched 2 or 3 of his classmates drop out, as Sierra Vista was SBF’s only location without an indoor dog training center. This meant that veterans suffering with PTSD and other injuries, with symptoms that include hypervigilance, anxiety and a strong desire to remain in the house with the blinds shut tight and the doors locked, had to be out in the public Veteran’s Memorial Park with a dog fresh from the pound, working hard to get the dog to focus on them and the lessons instead of the squirrels, lizards, dogs, birds and children in the park. It was truly a recipe for disaster. Tim told Leslie, the trainer, that if there was one thing he was going to do, it would be to create an indoor dog training center for SBF in Sierra Vista. Leslie nodded in response and rolled her eyes – Tim swears he heard her mutter under her breath.

Tim and Leslie later found a building that fit the bill and more – a 16,000 sq ft building that had been vacant for several years. The back corner was perfect to set up as indoor dog training. Tim, who was still struggling to pull himself out of a deep well that life had cast him into, somehow found the wherewithall and made the decision to purchase the building. It wasn’t until after he made the purchase that he shared that information with Cathie, with whom he was just getting started in an exclusive relationship.

The purchase of this building meant an immediate major explosion in scope. Cathie moved down to Sierra Vista, and the two of them started working with local veteran service organizations (VSOs) who all had missions to serve the sizable veteran population in town. It was immediately recognized that there was a void of Command and Control with the various organizations. There was a lack of information sharing and zero attempt at coordinating and collaborating. Cathie and Tim started inviting local VSOs (who were at the time working out of residential kitchens in a siloed effort to help veterans) and alternative health providers to join the Center. We donated the office space and the overhead costs as a trade-off to entice these organizations to start working together.

We were about 8 months into building the Warrior Healing Center (WHC) when we were first struggling to pay the bills and found ourselves in quite the uncomfortable position. We decided it was time to open up to the tight community we had created and to make some tough decisions. It was at this point that Beth surfaced. We hobbled forward with some added support from the organizations we were helping, and we absorbed Beth into the management web. She was full of ideas and helped us to get organized and to focus on direct veteran support management.

We have continued to evolve since that moment almost 5 years ago when the building was purchased and this vision began. With Tim’s strategic vision and chief clerk contributions, Cathie’s logic and practical get-it-done attitude and abilities, along with Beth’s mastery of crisis management and experience with veteran issues, this team is now operating to serve almost 1800 veteran families in our EVR (electronic veteran record) database who have received assistance. In 2022, WHC welcomed 574 first-time visitors in who were requesting just under 1200 forms of assistance. Out of those 574, 61 self-identified as a threat to self or others due to their stress level when they completed our intake form. We are honored to report that those 61 continue to work with programs and resources that we’ve plugged them into, and none of them have harmed themselves or others.

The other important piece in our thought process is that our efforts involve simply keeping an open mind, throwing out conventional wisdom, and doing what is needed to help those in need. We firmly believe that if it’s stupid and it works, it isn’t stupid. We also have zero doubt that this is so much bigger than any of us.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The challenges are never-ending. But that’s what’s expected when you are working to change conventional wisdom. WHC is working with an approach that hasn’t been done before. We are a 100% volunteer, grass-roots organization that has been responding to the need in front of us. We LISTEN to veterans and we are responsive to helping them meet the challenges they face. We offer a hand up and ask that they give back to the next veteran in need. We have been able to touch 1700 veteran families in the past 4 years to help them through crisis. We have assisted over 130 veterans facing homelessness in the past 2 years to help them find long-term housing solutions. Last year alone we assisted 574 veterans who had not previously been to the Warrior Healing Center. 61 of those self-reported as a threat to self or others because they were under so much stress – to date, those 61 continue to work with the resources and programs we have plugged them into, and have not harmed themselves or others. We have created a networking framework for local businesses owned by veterans, and in 2022 we assisted 113 veterans to get VA disability rating increases, which translates into an additional $6 million annually coming into Cochise County tax-free as compensation to veterans with disabilities – a tangible life-changing difference to veterans, their families, and the community at large.

This road has been challenging but very rewarding. We are not afraid to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work needed to give HOPE to those who have lost it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Warrior Healing Center is honored to work with so many great organizations in the county. VeloVets Sierra Vista (VVSV) gets disabled veterans off the couch and exploring the county on bicycle. They ride every Wednesday and Saturday morning, supporting local businesses by stopping to refuel at local coffee houses. Prickly’s Cafe is a local veteran-owned coffee house that is a favorite. Women’s Army Corp meets on Mondays for lunch at Vinny’s New York Pizza (best pizza and wings), to share stories and reminisce about their time in uniform. Team RWB (Red, White and Blue) are an energetic bunch who show their patriotism by putting together social events, conquering fitness challenges and serving the community. They enjoy gathering at Doc’s Watering Hole, the local veteran-owned Honkytonk bar and grill for line dancing lessons and bull riding contests. Heroes Healing Heroes Outdoors (H3O) is a group of veterans who inspire disabled veterans to find their passion outdoors in nature. They take veterans out hunting, fishing, camping and more in the wilderness of southern Arizona and beyond. The Marine Corps League veterans can be found Monday mornings gathering at the veteran-friendly Landmark Cafe swapping stories that need only be 10% true. The Scottish American Military Society (SAMS) are fun to hang with, even though they prefer to sport their kilts. They are incredibly supportive of veteran events and will often provide the color guard. They can often be found supporting Highland Games, Tartan Celtic Games and Scottish Games throughout the state (who knew?!). HeroPAWS pairs up veterans with rescue dogs and trains them together for the dog to attain service animal status. Trainer Leslie can often be found with her students and pups training in public at pet-friendly stores such as Tractor Supply and PetSmart. Cochise Linux User Group (CLUG) is run by an Army veteran who knows where to eat! They regularly meet at 143 Street Tacos to review the latest tech. Women Warriors (WW) is an important part of the team who gives back hard to this community, and they are fans of veteran-friendly Julie & Sammy’s 33 Flavors ice cream – we all are! Our veteran-owned business group is a unique bunch who love to help the community. Of special note is Ruby’s Divine Chocolates, Urban Axe Yard (beer and axe throwing!), Gunny’s Puerto Rican Barbeque, Bisbee Hot & Spicy, Spectral Feather Drone Services and Photography, and The Thirsty Lizard Bar and Grill.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Find your pain, find your purpose.

Tim served in Afghanistan with a life-long friend, Frank “Bruiser” Bryant, whom he met as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. The tragic loss of Bruiser and his team in April 2011 keeps us mindful of Bruiser’s sacrifice and the loss his and so many other families suffered during the war. That sacrifice inspires the work we do every day at the Warrior Healing Center.

Here’s a toast:

High Flight
BY JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE JR.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air ….

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Website: www.WarriorHealingCenter.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warriorhealingcenter/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/warrior-healing-project/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whc1838

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Youtube: www.youtube.com/@WarriorHealingProject/

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