Serving Those Who Served
Building Community with Retired Veterans
Our Mission
We aim to strengthen the bond between the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington DC and the surrounding community. Through engagement, education and engagement, FOSH connects citizens and veterans in a relationship that recognizes the sacrifice of military service and enhances quality of life for both veteran and neighbor.
Our Role in the Community
The Friends of the Soldiers Home is comprised of volunteer members who come from across the city. We aim to create spaces and events where retired veterans and neighbors can get to know one another and build community.
About FOSH and the AFRH
AFRH is not just a place to live, but a place to live more.
The Armed Forces Retirement Home campuses in Gulfport and Washington, DC are communities designed for retired veteran residents to maintain an independent lifestyle in an environment designed for safety, comfort and personal enrichment.
The Friends of the Soldiers Home (FOSH) promotes awareness and education about the DC campus Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH, aka the “Old Soldiers Home”).
We foster a spirit of service and community building with those who served. We maintain a strong presence and connection to the surrounding communities that neighbor the home. We advocate to advance our mission of camaraderie and solidarity with the residents of the home and our local ANCs.
Every year we throw fourteen events that are attended by dozens of residents and thousands of community members. Residents of AFRH tell us that our efforts greatly improve their quality of life and bring them into regular contact with thoughtful neighbors who support their needs.
Being a retirement home for enlisted service members, many residents of the AFRH live far away from their families. FOSH volunteers provide companionship to those whose children and grandchildren are stationed all across the globe.
Featured Residents
FOSH is pleased to feature the stories of some of the residents of the AFRH, sharing their experiences, their military service and their family.
Get to know the resident of the Soldiers Home.