The Defender Service Awards

Heroes Hope is a veteran-led organization dedicated to serving the veteran homeless community in Tulsa and the surrounding areas by offering safe, free, ADA-accessible housing. The organization supports veterans fighting the battle against post-traumatic stress, offering mentorship, resources and a community of other veterans. Heroes Hope is committed to helping struggling veterans set goals, find employment, overcome addiction, work through medical issues, and reconnect with family, guiding them on the right path toward long-term self-sustainability.

WildCare provides veterinary care and rehabilitation to over 9,000 injured, ill, and orphaned wild animals throughout Oklahoma each year and is one of the 10 largest centers in the US. The WildCare helpdesk answers up to 150 calls per day, helping to humanely resolve wildlife/human conflicts and provide guidance on wildlife emergencies and domestic animal abandonment. The organization's wildlife and conservation education efforts reach thousands more daily through a social media following of 157,000, news coverage, and more than 100 education events per year. WildCare drives state and national impact through research collaborations with universities and the CDC. Advocacy efforts like leading the Oklahoma Advocacy Coalition further amplify impact, successfully initiating conservation campaigns and policy.