From Underserved To Seen: Holistic Support For Women Veterans

Too many women who served are still asked to fight for basic recognition before they can access care. We sit down with Virginia Giordano, CEO and founder of the Barbara Giordano Foundation, to explore a different path: small, trauma‑informed retreats and holistic wellness programs designed by listening to women veterans first. From equine therapy and EFT tapping to reflexology and targeted workshops on issues like clutter, the approach centers on safety, trust, and practical tools that help women rebuild daily life.

Virginia walks us through the foundation’s evolution from a broad women’s mission to a laser focus on women veterans after discovering the stark realities: higher rates of military sexual trauma, elevated suicide risk, and persistent underemployment. She explains why a 15‑woman cap is intentional—no one is invisible, everyone is heard—and how all‑female practitioners and cohorts create a protective space where healing can actually take hold. We discuss the tension between accessible online programming and the unique power of in‑person connection, where shared stories dissolve isolation and accelerate recovery.

The conversation also surfaces systemic barriers: the default assumption that the veteran is a man, the maze of claims and bureaucracy, and the emotional cost of not being believed. Virginia shares a bold next step—a dedicated holistic retreat center for women veterans—with plans ready and partnerships welcome, whether through property donations, sponsorships, or aligned support. If you care about veteran mental health, MST recovery, equitable access, and trauma‑informed care, this is a blueprint for meaningful change that turns recognition into resources and resources into lives renewed.

Subscribe for more candid conversations with leaders serving our veteran community, share this episode with a woman who served, and leave a review to help others find it. Want to help build the retreat center or sponsor a cohort? Visit GiordanoFoundation.org and get involved.

Transcript

Meet Virginia Giordano & Mission

Larry Zilliox 0:15

Good morning. I'm your host, Larry Zilliox, Director of Culinary Services here at the Warrior Retreat at Bull Run. And this week our guest is Virginia Giordano. She is the CEO and founder of the Barbara Giordano Foundation, which is uh based out of New York, and it's a nonprofit that works with female veterans and provides services to uh female uh warriors that um need help. And so I'm so uh happy that she's joining us because every time I run across a veteran service organization that supports our our women warriors, I I really want to have them on because when you look at the veteran population as a whole, our women veterans are underserved on almost every level. So uh Virginia, welcome to the podcast.

Virginia Giordano 1:16

Well, I'm happy to be there. Thank you for the opportunity.

Larry Zilliox 1:19

So if you would tell us a little bit about the the background of the organization and how you came to found it.

Why Focus On Women Veterans

Holistic Wellness Programs Explained

Virginia Giordano 1:26

I'd be happy to do that. Uh the fact is that the organization, the Barbano Foundation, which is actually named after my sister, who was uh in uh medicine and um among other things, and it was really her idea to put together an organization that supported women in general. So the organization this year is actually 30 years old. However, we've not always focused on women veterans. We started that about eight years ago because even though none of us on the board were women veterans at that time, we were doing some research and we kept coming across the fact that women veterans really did not have the same resources that men veterans did. And so we decided to narrow our focus to just women veterans and to support them by providing them with um wellness, holistic wellness opportunities that they were not able to access other places and do everything for free for them, by the way, working with all women to women who serve. We were shocked actually to add that there are over three million women veterans in the United States and probably now more, that the statistics that go along with the women veterans were really disheartening. That more women veterans commit suicide than their male counterparts, that more women veterans are harnessed than their male counterparts, that more women veterans are underemployed than their male counterparts. So we felt it was really a need that needed to be addressed. So that's why we have taken this on.

Larry Zilliox 3:01

What is the core program that you guys offer?

Virginia Giordano 3:04

Well, as I said, holistic wellness. So, for example, you know, during COVID, obviously, like most other organizations, we do think online. Now we're back into doing holistic wellness retreats in person for the women who served. And as I said, we only work with the women. We do not have other men veterans participate in our programs, etc. But um, so we offer things like equine therapy, EFT, which is emotional freedom techniques, reflexology, uh, things like that, things that we know are um proven and that they work, and that the women can really work on themselves. Because what happens is that a lot of women either don't have access to services that that might some of these, or they don't go to the VA for various reasons. And so we are filling in those gaps. We're not looking to replicate out there, we're looking to fill in those gaps, and we're looking to solely focus on women veterans so that they really feel welcomed and they feel safe, because I think that that's a really big issue for a lot of the women. And so all of our practitioners are incredible, well known really, all over the United States, if not the world. And um, so we only use email uh is this program available?

Larry Zilliox 4:31

Is it in person or is it available online or like through Zoom?

Online To In‑Person Retreats

Retreat Format And Impact

Virginia Giordano 4:37

Well, some of the programs that we do are online, and as I said, you know, during COVID, everything was online, and we were averaging about 40 programs a year online, which is a lot. And now the things are but the women were saying, and and you know, we we would listen to them, which is I I just have to tell you this quick story. When we first started to think about that, we would focus just women veterans, we decided that we would spend the first year or so not just putting up programs, but to actually speak to the women um to find out what it was that they needed. And the first two women veterans that we spoke to, they actually came an hour late to our meeting. And then then they came, they said, listen, we weren't sure we were going to come because we didn't know if you were sincere or not. So when we told them, you know, what we wanted to do, and then we wanted to ask them first what they needed, they were shocked because they said, usually people don't ask us what we need. They tell us what they think we should need. And so, but we spent that first year just really speaking to women veterans. So what we do, most of it now is based on what the women are telling us, either directly or indirectly, that they need. For example, we just did a program on clutter because a lot of the women seem to have an issue with being able to let go of things, various reasons. And so we did a series of on clutter. And our workshops, as I said, over COVID were all online, but now some of our workshops were online, and some of them now are in person because we feel that there's a real value in the women getting together and meeting each other. And what happens, like for example, our last workshop which was back in November in New York, um, it was three days, and women came from um Texas and Florida and North Carolina, as well as New York. And they just had not only did they learn a lot, but they had a wonderful time because they connected with other women veterans from other parts of the country who obviously shared their experiences. So it was it was really an incredible program, but also it was just incredible to see them all together and how happy they were to be together. Uh, because they all understand each other.

Larry Zilliox 7:04

How often do you run these in-person programs?

Enrollment, Cost, And How To Join

Virginia Giordano 7:07

Well, the in-person retreats, as I said, are three days. And so it's and because everything is free to the women, you know, it's it runs a lot of money for the foundation um to have to do this. So the in-person, the three-day in-person retreats we do four times a year, one one every season. Now we have another one coming up in April, April 17th, 18th, and 19th. So we're just beginning to advertise for that. So if anybody's interested in in participating, they just have to go to Jordano Foundation.org and uh or follow us on Facebook or Instagram, and you'll see that we will be posting information about that. And then it's a very simple process. As I said, they don't have to pay anything, they simply have to fill out this this form for us, that this questionnaire. And because we want to make sure that we're that the people who are participating are the ones that really not only need it, but they know what they want to get out of it. You know, so there is a questionnaire that that uh they have to complete. But that's all.

Small Cohorts And Safety

Vision For A Dedicated Retreat Center

Larry Zilliox 8:15

And listeners, that webpage is giordanofoundation.org. So that that is g-ior d a-n-o foundation.org, foundation.org. So please go to the webpage, take a look at the resources, everything that they offer. It is a uh webpage that is like all veteran service organizations, you're gonna see that make a donation button up there at the top. I want everybody to bang on that and donate. Give what you can. Our female veterans, our women veterans are underserved. Here's an organization that's focused entirely on providing services to them. They have been. How many uh veterans can take take advantage of that?

Location, Partners, And Property Needs

Virginia Giordano 10:12

Well, that that's a great question. For this retreat, we're actually limiting it to 15 women veterans. Now, the reason why we've done that is because the women have told us that part of the reason why they like coming to these retreats is that they really feel that it's not overwhelming. It's not a hundred people in a room and and that kind of a number or 50, that's too many. They feel that they really get seen and heard and that they really bond. So we deliberately have kept it to a a a small number, a relatively small number. Now, what we want to do ultimately, right now, as I said, we're doing one a season, but what we want to do is to, well, two things. One of them is that we want to be able to provide more of these in-person retreats in um more often than just once a season. But as I said, because it is free to the women, it is an expense to the foundation that we take on. And we're happy to take it on because the work is really important. But the other thing that I really want to tell everybody is that ultimately our goal of the foundation is to build an actual physical retreat center, holistic wellness retreat center, just for women veterans. So women all over the country, and we say also all over the world, can come to the retreat center and get all of these holistic modalities that they need in order to support their wellness, their wellness journey. So that has been our goal actually, almost from the very beginning. And so we're really focused on that. So we are looking for a location, we're looking for sponsors to help us to do that. We have worked out the details and the plans, and we we know um what we want to have there for the women, and um we just have to find the right location.

Larry Zilliox 12:07

Where where is the right location?

Virginia Giordano 12:09

You know, we're we're open to it, you know, because we are located in New York. Initially, we thought, well, it should be in New York because we're here and um the women can come here. But, you know, we have been offered property in West Virginia, and that was fabulous. It just didn't work out for for some reasons. So, but we it was a teaching learning experience for us, I have to say, because it made us understand that we really didn't have to stay in New York for our retreat center in order for us to be able to um make it a success. And so we're open uh to wherever we can get the appropriate land and the support for it, we're open because as I said, we do have the plans for it. We know exactly what we need to have and how we need to do it, and we just need the right partners.

The Big Issues: MST And PTS

Larry Zilliox 13:04

So are you looking for vacant property or uh for a structure on property, or what what ideally would you want?

Virginia Giordano 13:12

Well, ideally it would be um that there is already a structure on it that we can adapt. However, in Virginia, in West Virginia, it was just the property. And um, but we found that there were a number of organizations in West Virginia that would have been happy to help us to to build the structure because we do have the plans for the structure. We know what we need to have in those buildings. And um so it can work either way, actually.

Barriers At The VA And Recognition

Larry Zilliox 13:41

Well, listeners, uh, there you go. If you if you know somebody who would like to donate property or donate a an estate or facility and put it in the will, or maybe your parents just passed away and you're wondering what to do with that property, um, here's here's a thing you can do with it. You could donate it and hopefully you know it will work for them at a minimum. Let's say it doesn't work for them, they could sell it and use that money to buy other property or to build somewhere. So think about that. I know we always talk about making that donation and banging on that donate button, but there's other ways here to help women veterans, and uh that that is one of them. So think about that. Or if your company is looking to get behind an organization and sponsor something, um, have them reach out and uh make that call and find out how they can help. Again, the webpage is Giordano Foundation.org. Virginia, what do you see as the really the number one thing that uh women veterans come to you issue-wise and say, you know, is it PTS, is it uh military sexual trauma? What is what do you think is the number one issue for our women veterans today?

Virginia Giordano 15:14

That's that's a really good question. You know, what we keep hearing, and one of the things that became very clear at the last re in-person retreat was now that as I said, these women came from different states, that every one of them, every one of them had been a subjected to military stress sexual sexual trauma and uh post-traumatic stress. Everyone. And so that was surprising in a way to some of us, because their experiences, they were all different ranks and they were different branches of the service, and yet they had such similar experiences in terms of how they were treated. So I think that those two issues are huge. But I think the other issue is that most people don't even realize how many women are involved in the military, have sacrificed so much. You know, when we think about veterans, we always, always think about men. But the fact is that part of the mission of the foundation also is to educate the public about the fact that women have always served in the military from the American Revolution on up, without recognition and uh most of the time, and that they're still not valued and recognized at the way they they need to be. And therefore, a lot of the services are still geared specifically toward male issues and not necessarily female issues. But military stexful trauma is a huge issue for the women.

How Orgs Can Build Trust

Larry Zilliox 16:46

I know from my own experience here at the visiting chef program, when we have chefs come in and do dinner for the families, um I'm very specific with the chef to let them know the warrior is the woman. So they just assume, like most of the population, that if you're a veteran, it's the guy who's the veteran, not not the woman. And uh we're very we're very keen on making sure that everybody's aware that the the the veteran who's been invited to stay with their family is the uh the the wife or the the spouse. So I understand that issue. I I really do. And um, well we know we know that women veterans are underserved. And along those lines, um, what do you think are the key barriers to women veterans receiving services either at a state level or through the VA or or other veteran service organizations?

Donate, Share, And 100% To Programs

Virginia Giordano 17:49

Well, I can only tell you what the women tell us and consistently tell us for all of these years now that they're focused we're focusing on the women veterans, is that they are not after what they need a lot of times. And then the other issue is that they don't feel welcomed. So when they go to so a lot a lot of the women veterans do not go to the VA. Now we have nothing against the VA. We think you know, they do some great work, and so this is not any kind of um casting aspersions on the VA, but I'm only telling you what the women tell us is that they don't feel welcome, they don't feel heard. You know, I'll give you an example. I was going to a a meeting at a VA, and um I was waiting in the the lobby um for the person that I needed to speak to, and uh a man and a woman came in, and the person at the desk who works at the VA said to the man, he asked him, you know, what branch of service and what kind of thing, and it was the woman who was the the veteran. It was that was her husband who was just coming in with her uh to be with her. And so again, it's that lack of recognition, it's the lack of um, I mean, if you're not even recognized at the VA, then they're not really going to necessarily listen to what you you need because they don't they don't recognize you for your service. So I I I think that that's that's a huge issue is that the women don't feel like they're heard. And if they are, they don't really, if they're willing to speak up, they don't know really who to speak to. You know, I keep hearing a lot about the fact that obviously it's a bureaucracy and there's so many levels and nothing ever gets done. And uh one of the women who comes to our programs the other day, she wrote to me and she said, I am so disgusted. She said, I have she filed a claim and this has been ten years and it was denied again because I I don't know, something was missing from the claim or some other thing that she needed to have, but she's followed everything right through. Ten years waiting. I think that that's that's the frustration for a lot of women, that they just after a while give up. They might not even start because they don't feel welcomed, but if they start that there it there is such a a quagmire. To get something really done that they just give up. Yes. And that's why you wind up with a large number of women who are unemployed or underemployed or have post-traumatic stress and and don't get the help that they need, um, or and that the suicide rate is so high.

Larry Zilliox 20:32

Since we know that female veterans uh are underserved on a state, local, and and federal level, when we think about veteran service organizations out there that may want to try to focus some of their resources on women veterans, what would you say to them is the best way for them to build trust with women veterans?

Virginia Giordano 20:57

I think it's really important. I I have to say, I have to put in a little plug for New York State. I have to say that the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs for New York State is a woman. And that doesn't mean to say that a man can't be understanding of women's women veterans and and all of that. So I'm not looking at it that way. It's she just happens to be a a woman and a fabulous woman. And so she has made a real effort to reach out to find the women, first of all, because women don't come forward. You know, a lot of times you see this yourself is that men will will wear some insignia that says that they were in the military. A hat, they'll wear a jacket, they'll wear something. The women don't do that. And matter of fact, I I just need to tell you this quick story. I was at a meeting and uh for a Vietnam veterans, and I happened to be the only woman in the room. And so there were, I would say, a good 30 people, 30 men and myself. And uh the mayor of this particular city went around to thank each person for their service. And when he came to meet, he didn't he just skipped right over me. He just assumed I couldn't be a veteran. And he didn't ask, he didn't say, you know, what are you here for? Nothing. He just skipped over and made that assumption. So I think it would be really valuable for people to find out who the women that where they are, who they are, and to make sure that they actually reach out to them and want to hear from them and want to hear their stories and want to see what they can provide. It doesn't have to be involved with a lot of money, it's really making the time to actually hear their stories and to understand what they have provided us without really a lot of support.

Closing And Where To Find Us

Larry Zilliox 22:53

Well, listeners, you got to check out the webpage, gerardano foundation.org. Please go to it, check out all their resources, share that webpage on all your social media, send that link to your battle buddies, to relatives, to friends, anybody you know who's a woman veteran, and have them take a look at it. And maybe it's not for them, but they may know somebody who really does need to help. So it's Giordano Foundation.org. While you're there, bang on that donate button, make a donation, help them out. This is a great way to help the women veterans that you served with.

Virginia Giordano 23:35

Can I also say one other thing is that a hundred percent of the money that comes into us goes to our programming. We don't put anything into, we absorb all of that, that that all of the cost of, you know, things like um we choose not to have an office, for example, because we don't want to spend money on rent and things like that. We want to put 100% of the money into um the programming and the needs of the women veterans.

Larry Zilliox 24:06

Well, we certainly wish you all the luck in finding that retreat center. And uh, you know, the the work that you all are doing is just phenomenal. Uh, we can't thank you enough for for doing that.

Virginia Giordano 24:19

We have to thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak to you. This was wonderful and we really appreciate it.

Larry Zilliox 24:25

We'll hopefully we'll we'll get some of our women veterans to reach out to you. Um again, it's geordanofoundation.org. And uh thanks so much for coming on as a guest today. Thank you. My pleasure. So, listeners, we'll have another episode next Monday morning at 0500. You can find us on all the major podcast platforms. We're on YouTube and Reese Across America Radio. So, until then, thanks for listening.