The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved new Fisher House sites at 12 VA medical centers throughout the United States, including one new facility at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California, the agency announced this week.
This is in addition to 15 facilities that are already under construction or in the planning phase.
Each Fisher House provides the families and caregivers of and active-personnel receiving medical care with free short-term housing if they do not live within commuting distance of the specified care facility.
“Fisher Houses help enhance VA’s services and resources, providing Veterans, their families and caregivers a comforting space to reside during potentially stressful times of recovery and rehabilitation,” Acting VA Secretary Dat Tran said in a Jan. 25 press release.
To date, there are 91 Fisher House sites in the United States, including six locations in California. VA Fisher Houses saved families and caregivers over $32 million in lodging costs between 2019 and 2020, and accommodated over 47,000 families, according to the VA.
The VA says that interested families can contact their VA social worker or their intended Fisher House directly for accommodations.
About Fisher House
Fisher House has helped over 500,000 families since its founding more than three decades ago. The charity organization notes that 93 cents of every dollar it spends goes directly to helping current servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
In addition to building Fisher Houses for the VA, the charity also builds lodging facilities for the Department of Defense. Currently, the organization can service up to 1,200 families per day–but with 27 more facilities in various stages of development, that number is expected to rise.
The organization also helps families visit injured or ill servicemembers that are receiving medical care in locations that do not currently have a Fisher House in proximity with its Hotels for Heroes program.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
