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courtesy Hawkins family
Former British Royal Marine Ed Hawkins was seriously injured in Afghanistan in 2010. He left hospital last year and is currently on a work placement.
LONDON -- Fisher House, the Maryland-based charity which provides overnight accommodation for families visiting hospitalized military members, is expanding onto foreign soil for the first time with a facility for British troops.
Construction has begun on a $6.8-million building with 18 en-suite rooms that will allow relatives to stay close to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where the U.K.'s most seriously wounded military personnel are treated.
As well as providing servicemen and women a place to relax away from hospital wards, it will have communal living space including a family room, play area, lounge and kitchen and a private garden.
Fisher House, which was founded during the first Gulf War in 1990, has more than 50 projects in the U.S., as well as others located on American bases in Germany. However, this is its first truly international venture.
'Unique American model'
Talk show host and former U.S. Marine Montel Williams and the charity’s chairman, Ken Fisher, attended a ground-breaking ceremony at the site.
Courtesy Fisher House
Montel Williams at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Fisher House project at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, on April 23.
"This is a great honor for Fisher House, as we share with our British brothers and sisters our unique American model for caring for military families," Fisher said.
"This will be a sanctuary for the people who need it most: those who have made deep personal sacrifices – whether on the battlefield or on the home front – to keep us safe. We thank them even though we know it will never be enough."
Almost 10,000 British troops are in combat alongside 90,000 U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. Figures from Britain's Ministry of Defence, collated by The Guardian newspaper, show 832 have been seriously wounded since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001.
Many families travel for hundreds of miles to be by their loved ones' bedside -- sometimes for weeks at a time, because of the need for months or even years of surgery and rehabilitation. Military accommodation exists for family members but only six bedrooms are available at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Jan. 25: There are many of them around the country and they're all called Fisher House — a place for wounded war veterans to recover with the love and support of their families close by. NBC's Ann Curry reports.
Sue Hawkins, whose son Ed was almost killed by an improvised explosive device while on a patrol in Afghanistan in May 2010, said the new facility would "be a great source of comfort, particularly at a time when families are surrounded by so much uncertainty."
The blast killed his corporal and seriously wounded Ed, who was serving with the Royal Marines. He was flown back to Birmingham for several months of treatment.
"When we were told about Ed, we just left for the hospital," Sue Hawkins told msnbc.com. "We had no idea how long we would be there or even if he would survive. I can remember everything about that day, because of the shock, but that last thing you have time to think about it is planning where to stay."
Five-hour round trip
Faced with a daily five-hour round trip from their home in Hampshire, Sue and her husband Michael spent many nights across the road from the hospital in a former nurses' accommodation block, before moving to the military facility – a converted house in a residential street.
"There were times when Ed became very distressed and we were able to reach him quickly when the hospital called," she said. "That sort of comfort and care is very important. We know first-hand how important it is to have a 'home from home' in difficult, emotional and challenging times. Fisher House truly is a massive step in the best direction possible.”
Ed Hawkins, who is now 26, left hospital last year and is currently on a work placement.
British soldier Nick Gibbons, who lost a leg in a bomb in Afghanistan in 2008, also attended the ground-breaking ceremony on April 23. He told ITV News: "It's what you need really, your family around you. Facilities like this are great because it not only allows the family to stay here, it gives you a better relationship with your family. It's a stressful time. The last thing you want is them travelling."
Fisher House has contributed $2 million to the project, with the rest of the building cost provided by U.K. veterans' charity Help for Heroes, whose high-profile supporters include Prince Harry. It will be operated by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity and funded by Help for Heroes when it opens next year.
Britain's Prince Harry charmed the crowds in Washington, D.C., where he was on hand to accept a humanitarian award for his work with wounded veterans. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.
President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have previously made a sizeable donation to Fisher House, which also operates a Hero Miles Program that uses donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members.
Montel Williams told the Birmingham Mail that he was a regular visitor to Fisher House sites in the U.S., cooking meals for soldiers and their families. "I'll definitely be coming to Birmingham to do the same," he told the newspaper. "I'll bring my sister and my chef with me and we'll rustle up things like crab cakes and fish. It'll be real American-style cooking."
Msnbc.com's David Arnott contributed to this report.
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As someone who recently had to use Fisher House locations in both Germany and D.C. I can tell you that they are very much appreciated by those who need them. Having a location close to the hospital so family members can quickly be close to their loved ones when need makes a difficult situation a bit easier to deal with. Also add in that the family members have no additional cost for rooms and a super support group, both Fisher House employees and fellow family members, helps the family to deal with a situation they hopefully have never dealt with before or will have to again. If you have never served in the military or needed a facility such as Fisher House educate yourself before speaking out against them. As for the hospital issue, the care my stepson received both in Germany and D.C. was top notch and made his last days on this earth as pain free and comfortable as the doctors and nurses could make it. They also gave our family members terrific support in a very trying and emotional time.
"Britain's Prince Harry charmed the crowds in Washington, D.C., where he was on hand to accept a humanitarian award for his work with wounded veterans. NBC's Kristen Welker reports"
Where are the humanitarian for all the people that have done 10-50 times the work? I forgot, being born into a bloodline grants special consideration. Sarcasm aside, REALLY, where are the awards for all the people that dedicate their lives to improving other people's lives?
Although this is a nice gesture, it isn't nearly enough for the Troops who will be flooding the System. The V.A. will soon be stretched beyond it's limits. What should be done is open a lot of the Military Medical Facilities that were shut down after the Cold War ended, remember that, "The Peace Dividend", Staff them with Military Medical Personnel who need a lot less money then Civilian Providers and take care of these Veterans and their Families correctly. Also increase the Taxes on the Wealthy to pay for this. Also, make the Saudis pay reparations since 15 of the 19 Hijackers on 911 were Saudis.
While in the USMC I had the pleasure of working with the RM on several occasions. There is no stronger alliance than between the UK / Commonwealth countries and US. The vast majority of the funds for projects like this are applied locally in the US and I do not see this gesture of thanks to a great ally as unwarranted.
Nate, your comment will be much appreciated here in Britain. Thank you.
Nate, Thank You. Alliance, common cause and support is reciprocal, and doesn't come in slices, ideally. The Fisher House Project will hopefully offer some ease for the sacrifices our British allies have made for us. We are kindred, and should be one in empathy and cooperation ...... without question.
MSNBC does it again - identifying Mr. Useless Montel Williams as a U.S. Marine - nothing is further from the truth. Williams graduated from Annopolis (educated at taxpayers expense) and became the black equivalent of Jerry Springer on TV. As a Navy man he never served our nation, "felt he could do better as a spiritual counselor" (for millions of broadcast dollars). Williams is NOT a vet never a Marine. Our liberal, leftist media sucks in the unknowing - once again. and has the gonatds to publish Williams picture as though he was instrumental in Fischer House activity. Such BULL.
You all make me laugh! Stop your nonsense about the Brits, I as a soldier in Iraq seen the Brits along side of us. Let me tell you something, they do not like us as much as you think. Some of us soldiers tried to be friendly with them, they were rude and cold. They were obligated to fight with us. The Australians were much more friendly with us. When we were in Kuwait, the Brits and Australians ate at the same Chow Hall with us. The Brits did not say Hello, but the Australians always did.
vet1dee, First of all I'd like to say Thank You for your service and sacrifices as a military veteran. One of my American cousins also served in Iraq on his last tour. Additionally, I have Australian cousins. Stereotyping and loose generalizations are hard to get away from when referring to societies.....I guess it's difficult for most to think beyond a mentality of "us and them", yeah? From my understanding, though, the British are simply more reserved, and their social norms of behavior are well rooted, as they come from a much older country and culture. And, your collective circumstances in Iraq were surely more difficult than I can fathom. Everyone has a story.....life experiences that formulate our perceptions, granted. With that, while in the Mideast, I was rescued twice by Muslims. And, I feel particularly close to a Brit that has saved my life. When one makes an effort to try and understand an individual on more personal terms, we may be able to feel compassion and friendship outside of our own cultural bias.
From a Brit living in the USA:
For those posters reacting negatively to this article, please remember that msnbc.com is an international news site. UK soldiers fight and die alongside American servicemen to keep YOU safe and free, and have done so for almost 200 years in many wars. We respect and revere your servicemen in our country. You should consider offering the same courtesy to ours. It's your cause they're fighting for after all.
It's refreshing to see the author join in the comments and reply when appropriate. I would like to see more of that.
It is unfortunate that the author seldom, if ever, has any control over the headline that is put over their article.
I"m kind of surprised at the people posting here who have their noses out of joint because a charity chooses to do a project outside of the USA. It''s a charity, so they can apply their funds to whatever they think is worthwhile. Isn't that the point of charities? To fund what the government cannot or chooses not to? Many of the countries in Europe didn't approve of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, so isn't it appropriate that the British get some recognition for standing with the USA? I do recall the outpouring of sympathy that the world had for us after 911- so let's try to demonstrate that same empathy with others who suffered too.
Its not the amount given to a honorable institution, but the governments continuous attitude of giving away
money we don't have !