LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After years of traveling the country or the globe, military families often relish the chance to pick a hometown and put down roots.
But then health problems, often because of that military service, put that family back on the road, beating a path to Veterans Affairs medical centers in expensive cities.
"A lot of family members that wanted to be near their veteran patients were sleeping in cars and not having a place to go," said retired Army Gen. LeAnn Burch.
Burch is on the Friends of Fisher House Arkansas board, a local non-profit working with the national Fisher House Foundation.
They are building what will be the latest location of an idea that began 40 years ago when a builder and philanthropist named Zachary Fisher got a call from with wife of a high-ranking navy chief.
Together, they saw the struggle of military members and their families to find a place to stay in Washington, D.C. At the same time, their soldier, sailor, or marine received treatment at a Bethesda Naval Hospital.
Four decades later, the solution reached Little Rock, and UAMS, Baptist Health and McClellan Memorial of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System bounded the hospital district.
"It's going to be a place where comfort can be provided," Burch said. "Military families, active duty and veteran families can come together and help the patient heal."
Plans call for a house with space for 16 families whose loved ones are being treated at the nearby hospitals.
It will have common areas for families to mingle and meet, but more importantly, those families will have a place to live and assist in the care of their loved ones.
"A military family is really used to relying on each other," Burch said. "The idea that these families can come together and share common space and common experiences is going to be familiar and helpful in the healing process."
Zach Baumgarten, an Army veteran who works as a pro bono liaison with the University of Arkansas Bowen School of Law, underwent cancer treatment at the V.A. and knows just how impactful the Fisher House will be.
"My family could have used the Fisher House if this was available," Baumgarten said. "I underwent cancer treatment here at the V.A., and my family had to travel over two hours to come see me and visit me."
Baumgarten fought off that cancer and now will help install programs and supports at the new Fisher House, pushing it beyond being just a place to stay.
"We see veterans come in who are getting long-term care and need their families close by, but may also need legal assistance or something like that," Baumgarten said. "That's where we're looking to partner with them."
It will all move toward the goal of removing roadblocks for people who have already traveled a long road and are now looking to get better.
"If you live outside of a 50-mile radius [of Little Rock], your family, as a veteran family, will be able to participate here to be a part of this healing event," Burch said.