Fisher House for families of veterans set to open this summer in Long Beach

A large, custom-built home — nearly a mansion — has risen from the ground over the winter and spring at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center at Bellflower Boulevard and Seventh Street.

The home behind the construction fence is a Fisher House — an adult version of a Ronald McDonald House for families of veterans receiving care at the VA hospital. It is expected to start operation in August or September.

The 16-bedroom house was little more than a dream less than three years ago. That’s when former Congressman Steve Kuykendall and Gold Star Manor CEO Terry Geiling got together with some like-minded friends and formed Fisher House Southe Califoia Inc.

“We’ve pretty much covered the bases,” said Cindy Campbell, vice president for community relations for the Fisher House Foundation. “We work through the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs Administration. The big push now is on the VA hospital sites.”

The Long Beach VA Hospital, next to the Cal State Long Beach campus, sits on 100 acres and serves a large part of Southe Califoia. Kuykendall said that it has served more than 52,000 veterans in the last year.

“Today, less than 7 percent of the population (in the United States) is either on active duty or is a veteran,” Kuykendall said. “Pretty much all of them did this, served our country, willingly. We owe these people a huge debt.”

While Fisher Houses function on the same basic philosophy as Ronald McDonald Houses — providing food and housing for families to support patients in hospitals — the operation is considerably different. Fisher Houses are located on military property, and the buildings are constructed to federal specifications.

The military, in this case the Veterans Administration, oversees the construction, so there are not naming opportunities like those used to raise money for Ronald McDonald Houses. Kuykendall said that the local group would tu the money over to the foundation, and not be involved in the actual construction.

Once the house it built, the VA takes care of operational expenses, Geiling added.

“The fundraising is pretty much a one-shot deal,” Geiling said. “We may stay organized in some fashion as kind of a support group for special things, but it’s pretty much a tu-key effort.”

Kuykendall said the committee expects to spend 18 months to two years fundraising before ground is broken for the Long Beach home. Construction would take another nine months, meaning the facility could open in late 2015 or early 2016.

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Last week’s meeting was the first public effort by the group, and a website for the Long Beach Fisher House still is under construction. To find out how to donate, call 426-7651 or 436-2000.