Hall of Fame Award of Character: Arizona veteran Tim Kirk builds a sanctuary for those who served

Courage. Integrity. Commitment. Honesty. Respect.

Those are the values honored at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton - but football isn't the only place they live.

Through its Award of Character, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in partnership with USA TODAY, recognizes teachers, nurses, coaches, firefighters, police officers and veterans whose service strengthens communities and saves lives.

This month, Brittney Payton, daughter of Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton, and ex-Cardinal Roger Wehrli, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, helped honor Tim Kirk. Kirk is a retired Air Force colonel whose work at the Warrior Healing Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona, has created an oasis for veterans in crisis by streamlining support, restoring purpose and helping turn the tide in an epidemic that has taken far too many lives.

A surprise recognition for a quiet leader

When Pro Football Hall of Fame representative Roger Wehrli arrived, Kirk immediately recognized him.

We are so honored to present you with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Award of Character, presented by USA TODAY," Payton said, recognizing Kirk's work at the Warrior Healing Center.

As the award was placed in his hands, those closest to him reflected on what defines Kirk most.

The character is just such a part of him," said Cathie Goodman, Tim's wife and the director of the Warrior Healing Center. It's intense."

Those who meet Kirk describe the same thing: Warmth, presence and authenticity.

You can see it in his eyes. You can feel it in his presence," said Marlene Lopez, an Air Force Sergeant who was there when Payton and Werhli honored Kirk.

A community built for veterans, by veterans

At the Warrior Healing Center, Kirk and his wife, Cathie, saw gaps in how veterans were being supported and decided to act.

One out of four adults in Sierra Vista is a veteran," Goodman said. If you're not a veteran, you're married to one. Your neighbor is one. Your coworker is one."

Navigating benefits, health care and support systems can be overwhelming. Kirk describes the official system as difficult to access and slow to respond.

So they built something different.

We looked at how the system was failing," Kirk said. And we said, let's build a parallel system that's communitybased."

The goal: help veterans avoid isolation, despair and suicide by restoring connection and purpose.

A place that saves lives

For many veterans, the Warrior Healing Center arrives at a breaking point.

One veteran, Steven Vowell, recalled arriving the day after deciding he no longer wanted to live.

I had four heart attacks in a year and pretty much lost everything," he said. That morning, I had to make a decision between paying for my hotel room or getting something to eat."

Vowell paid for one more night and then received a knock on the door inviting him to the center.

It was a godsend," said veteran Beverly Everett. It's like a sanctuary."

Others echoed that sentiment, describing isolation, suicidal ideation and a sense of worthlessness before finding the center.

I didn't feel valued," Lopez said. I didn't feel like I could provide to the community. I didn't feel like there was anywhere to go."

At the Warrior Healing Center, that changes.

When people come in the door, I help people," Everett said. This place is my base."

Why community matters

Kirk believes the solution to veteran suicide isn't more medication or more institutions, but more community.

99 percent of veterans, when they take the courageous step to ask for help and are told it's a mental health issue," he said. They get put on medication and told 'you've got a problem with your brain.' And there's this whole system to address that stuff that's not scratching the right itch."

Without imagination, Kirk said, it becomes impossible to envision a future worth living.

Instead, the center focuses on belonging, shared purpose and action - from gardening to mentorship to simply showing up for one another.

We don't need more mental-health facilities," Kirk said. We need more community."

He describes the philosophy simply:

The answer to veteran suicide is more Mayberry than Mayo Clinic."

Those around Kirk say his response to need is instinctive. Kirk sees that instinct as shared across military service, sports and teamwork.

You're family," he said. And you run to the sound of the guns."

An honor with deep meaning

Receiving the Award of Character carries weight for Kirk, because he said he understands what it represents.

I know what this means," Kirk said to Payton, referencing her late father, for whom the NFL's highest honor is named. I know what the Man of the Year Award represents to so many people."

To be associated with that legacy, he said, is beyond expression."

It's lifechanging."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warrior Healing Center head receives Pro Football Hall of Fame award