The town of Yountville lays in the famous Napa Valley wine-producing region, halfway between St. Helena and the city of Napa. It’s home to many upscale eating places, including uber-celebrity chef Thomas Keller’s uber-expensive French Laundry, where the price of a meal is north of $300. (Don’t worry, you can’t get a reservation anyway.) Common folks still miss The Diner, a breakfast-lunch-dinner place with service at the counter or in booths. (The only place I’ve eaten – or even seen on a menu – spicy tapioca pudding.) The Diner closed in the early 2000s; another of Keller’s restaurants now occupies the building. Long before Yountville became a destination for disposing of disposable income, it was known for its Veterans Home.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans, provided the original funding for the Veterans Home. The home opened in 1884, operated by The Veterans Home Association in San Francisco, under the auspices of the state of California. The Association continued to operate the 910-acre, 55-building facility after the state took ownership in 1900. There were 800 residents at the time. The operation included farming, – no Cabernet Sauvignon – dairy, hogs and chickens. Later a 500-bed hospital was built. Eventually, it grew to several thousand acres and home to 1,200 veterans, the largest facility of its kind in the U.S.
The Pathway Home opened on the site in 2008. Separately operated, it provided services to Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans suffering from PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder. In March of this year, one of its clients, who had been expelled from the program, returned to carry out his second-amendment remedy after what he considered unfair treatment. He interrupted a going-away party for two staff members who were leaving. He sent away all but Executive Director Christine Loeber, program therapist Jennifer Golick, and Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, a San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System psychologist.
After an initial exchange of gunfire with a responding Napa County deputy, he shot and killed the three hostages, one six-months pregnant, then himself.
The Pathway Home has been shut down since then. This week they announced the permanent closure of the residential facility that had provided care to 450 veterans.
