As Memorial Day weekend approaches, News 12 spoke to one veteran who is staying at the Fisher House on the campus of the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx.
John Simpson says he is grateful for a free, comfortable and convenient home away from home.
Simpson is a Vietnam veteran currently undergoing cancer treatment. Although he was born in the Bronx, he and his family now live in California but needed to come to New York for medical care.
"For us, this is a lifeline, for me who’s got two months of chemo. I mean this could be a really sad story,” said Simpson.
There are 91 Fisher Houses across the country and two in the Bronx, where veterans can stay for free while receiving medical treatment.
The Bronx Fisher Houses each have 16 guest rooms, a dining room, kitchen and living room for veterans and their families to relax and find comfort together.
The Simpson’s say finding the fisher house was an answer to their prayers.
"Kind of a salute to their service, we wanted the house to be special, we didn’t want the houses to look like a hotel,” said CEO and Chairman of the Fisher House Foundation Ken Fisher.
Fisher says he’s aiming for 100 Fisher Houses and plans to build one wherever one is needed.