Caring for Veterans and Their Families
Our veterans make plenty of sacrifices while serving our country. They sacrifice time with their families and friends as they serve all over the globe. They sacrifice their safety and willingly put their lives on the line to keep our country safe. Sometimes, they make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. While we can never fully repay our military members and veterans for the sacrifices they make for us, I believe we have an obligation to try. It’s important to let our current and former service members know that we care about them and their needs.
The Fisher House Foundation is an organization providing another way to help service members. Fisher Houses all across the country strive to provide a home away from home for families of hospitalized veterans and military members who are receiving care at military or VA medical centers. Here, families can stay for free and as long as needed, while their family member recovers. Since 1990, Fisher Houses have helped more than 368,000 families, and saved them more than $451 million in lodging and transportation costs.
By removing financial stress, Fisher Houses allow families to focus on what really matters: a full recovery for their loved one. The service member benefits too. After all, a family’s love is good medicine, and after being separated from their families, I’m sure many veterans appreciate having them nearby during the recovery process.
On Sept. 21, the Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution, the Fisher House Foundation and the Department of Natural Resources will host a hike and bike event on the Katy Trail to raise funds for three new Fisher Houses across Missouri, including one in nearby Columbia. I believe events like this one, which empower a community to help our nation’s finest, are amazing opportunities. I look forward to attending Saturday’s event and applaud those involved for their service to our military members and veterans. We owe our current and former service members so much, and I’m glad to see one more way we can honor them.
Please feel free to contact my office at (573) 751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.