Fisher House recipient of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize money

Obama Funds A Place For Vets To Heal

April 10, 2010 Alan Greenblatt NPR


Fisher House one of the charities to which President Obama donated his Nobel Prize money offers housing to wounded soldiers, veterans and their families. The families find in each other support during a traumatic period in their lives.

Fisher House helped Tammy Duckworth heal. As an Army Reserve helicopter pilot in Iraq, she was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade that cost her both her legs and severely injured her right arm. Eventually, she ended up at Fisher House at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The Fisher House Foundation has built 45 facilities on campus at military medical centers around the country, providing housing to veterans, wounded soldiers and their families free of charge. When he was a senator from Illinois, Barack Obama regularly visited Fisher House at Walter Reed.

First lady Michelle Obama, through her work with military families, is also "very aware" of Fisher House, says Duckworth, now an assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs. Last month, when President Obama announced that he would give his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize money to 10 charities, Fisher House was the single largest recipient.

Fisher House saves families money during long hospital stays. More importantly, it offers them a ready-made support group. People who have already been in residence at Fisher House for months help newcomers navigate the military and hospital bureaucracies — and offer them someone to talk to who understands what they're going through.
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Obama Funds A Place For Vets To Heal