When a service member or veteran is hospitalized, the world can stop without warning. A phone call. A diagnosis. A long road ahead. In those moments, families are not thinking about logistics or hotel costs. They are thinking about being there. About holding a hand. About not leaving.

For more than three decades, Fisher House Foundation has made that possible.

Founded in 1990, Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes on or near major military and VA medical centers so families can stay close to their loved ones during medical care at no cost. Today, the network includes 100 Fisher Houses.

Every night, up to 1,400 military and veteran families can sleep safely in a Fisher House instead of a car, a waiting room, or an expensive hotel miles away. That closeness matters.

“When I was in Fisher House, that’s where my family met me,” said Scotty Hastings, a soldier who suffered a gunshot wound in Afghanistan in 2011. “My wife at the time, my mom, my dad, my brother, they all met me there. And the most incredible part of all of it was that they didn’t have to worry about how they were going to afford to stay somewhere because Fisher House had them covered, which was incredible and such a life changer.”

Fisher House keeps family and friends close while a patient heals.

“At its heart, Fisher House is about love,” said Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation. “When families can be together, healing begins for the patient and for everyone who loves them. These families have already given so much. The least we can do is make sure they never have to worry about where they will sleep or how they will afford to stay close.”

Each Fisher House feels like home. Private bedrooms offer refuge after long days at the hospital. Shared kitchens and living spaces become places of quiet conversation, laughter, tears, and unexpected friendships. Families arrive exhausted and overwhelmed, but they leave knowing they were supported during one of the hardest chapters of their lives.

Since its inception, Fisher House has saved military and veteran families more than $650 million in lodging and travel costs and provided over 12.5 million nights of lodging at no cost. Behind every number is a family spared one more burden during a moment of crisis.

The mission does not stop at the front door of a Fisher House. Fisher House Foundation also supports families through programs designed to meet needs beyond lodging. Scholarship programs help children and spouses pursue education and build futures shaped by opportunity, not sacrifice. Hero Miles turns donated frequent flyer miles into reunions when distance would otherwise keep families apart. Hotels for Heroes ensures no family is turned away when a Fisher House is full. Through the Fisher Service Awards, the foundation provides grants to other nonprofits with innovative programs benefitting military and veteran communities.

Fisher House operates through a unique public-private partnership. Built through private donations and gifted to the military or Department of Veterans Affairs, each home is sustained for generations, ensuring support continues long after the ribbon is cut.

“As long as there is a military, there will be families who need Fisher House,” Fisher said. “This is not about buildings or programs. It is about standing with families when their lives are turned upside down and reminding them they are not alone. That is a promise we intend to keep.”

Fisher House exists because service does not end when the uniform comes off. By keeping families together during life’s most difficult moments, Fisher House delivers more than lodging. It delivers comfort, dignity, and hope.

To learn more or get involved, visit www.fisherhouse.org.