Sarge’s Veteran Support to shift services as founder moves

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 26, 2026

By Christi Baron

Olympic Peninsula News Group

After 15 years of leading Sarge’s Veteran Support, its founder and Executive Director Cheri Tinker has announced she will be stepping down and relocating to Oregon to be closer to family, marking the end of an era for the nonprofit that has played a central role in addressing veteran homelessness on the Olympic Peninsula, including Sequim.

Tinker shared the news on social media Feb. 4.

In an interview with the Forks Forum, she said the nonprofit’s thrift store “The Attic” would be liquidated and sold due to declining revenues, but its other properties and efforts will remain.

Sarge’s Veteran Support will seek out a new executive director to be based in Port Angeles rather than the West End.

Tinker said this reflects a strategic shift to serve a broader geographic area more effectively.

“We’ve done a good job over the years of helping to reduce veteran homelessness on the West End, and we need to be more centrally located in Port Angeles so that we can serve the West End, Sequim and the eastern part of Jefferson County as well,” she said.

Financial realities have forced difficult decisions, Tinker said, leading the organization to sell just the former VFW Hall, and close its retail operations in that building as of Feb. 28, citing ongoing financial losses.

“We have tried a new location and increased our inventory, but we just weren’t making enough money to break even, and our board of directors has made the painful decision to close our doors,” she said.

“We were $28,000 in the hole last year. People need to have a sense of the bills that come with owning a large building, insurance, employee costs, marketing, utilities, a new roof, all the different things you have to do. We’ve put $200,000 into the property, and it’s not making money for us, plain and simple.”

Tinker said The Attic was losing money and it wasn’t cost-effective to keep it open.

“A financial consultant was hired, and they recommended that we close it,” she said.

“You can’t pay the bills when some days you bring in $50. It’s not cost-effective.”

Some funds from Sequim siblings helped purchase the former VFW Hall.

The estate of Sequim siblings James and Mary Jo Minsky donated more than $922,000 to Sarge’s Veteran Support, the largest ever for the nonprofit, that went to establish LtCol James Minsky Place, a Sequim permanent housing facility for six elderly and/or disabled veterans in Sequim on the 400 block of Salal Place, off McCurdy Road in Sequim. It opened in May 2024.

Funds helped purchase and remodel the home and hire a case manager for five years.

Other funds, Tinker previously said, helped Sarge’s Veteran Support purchase The Attic’s building, pay off a house mortgage in Forks where two veterans reside, place asphalt on three housing parking lots, and place new carpet in its Forks shelter.

Tinker wrote via email that LtCol James Minsky Place’s six rooms are full and that things are going well there.

Focus on shelter, housing

With the sale of the Forks building, Sarge’s plans to reinvest in direct services.

The nonprofit is currently remodeling its Ash Avenue shelter in Forks into transitional housing, a project two years in the making, and it’s developing plans for a new small shelter in Port Angeles, including housing for women veterans.

“With the funds that we can earn from the sale of the building, we can use them for operating dollars and to move forward with the development of a shelter in Port Angeles for men and women veterans,” Tinker said.

In her social media post, Tinker emphasized that the organization’s mission remains the same.

“Our mission remains unchanged: serving the vulnerable Veterans of the Olympic Peninsula with shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing.”

Along with leaving Sarge’s, Tinker also announced she is resigning from both the Peninsula Housing Authority and the Clallam County Homelessness Task Force, where she has served for 19 years.

Reflecting on the financial struggles and the decision to close the store, Tinker was candid about the emotional toll, writing that she hates closing the store.

“We know how much it is counted upon by households throughout Forks and the bargain hunter alike,” she wrote. “It truly saddens my soul to see it go. But it is time for the viability of our agency to liquidate the holdings in the store, sell the building and re-invest the monies into the future for the nonprofit.”

Despite the challenges, Tinker said she leaves with pride in what has been accomplished.

“The past 15 years have been the honor of my life,” she wrote. “The lives changed, the hope restored, the Veterans served, it’s a testament to your generosity, faith, and partnership.”

As Sarge’s Veteran Support enters a new chapter under future leadership, Tinker says she remains confident in the organization’s future.

“I am confident that with your continued support, Sarge’s Veteran Support will thrive and grow in the years to come,” she wrote.

For more information about Sarge’s Veteran Support, visit SargesVeteranSupport.com or call 360-374-5252.