Veterans’ Affairs

It has been submitted! Send all your positive karma our way. The festival will announce winners on or about March 18th, 2009.

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Having been selected to participate on this commission I feel it would be my obligation to extend the invitation to anyone in the public that would like to hear what is happening. Below is the information for the meeting that will finalize the report. It will then be sent up the chain for consideration. Due to the fact that I have seen zero media coverage, I think this would be an important venue for the media. In fact, why don’t you clear your schedule that day and attend? Would make good press.

November 17, 10:00am - 12:00pm in
Room 301 of the Legislative Office Building (LOB).

33 N. State St
Concord, NH 03301

Get Directions(603) 271-3321

I do look forward to seeing this report progress into more than just words. Helping our wounded has improved over the years but understanding what kind of help they need is vital, hence this commission.

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I must apologize for my lack of updates as of late. Those close to me know what is happening behind the scene. I will be busy for a few months but still will be directly involved in my current documentary business and the various organizations that I am affiliated with.Most recently I’ve been invited to be a part of the New Hampshire Commission on PTSD. My role will be to add input on legislative items that will be presented to our local government for the betterment of veterans suffering from PTSD. I am very thankful to be a part of such a worthy panel.

Since the Veteran Appreciation day I have received many emails and have corresponded with some great people. It feels good knowing that I am not really alone in trying to fix many of the current issues facing veterans today. That brings me to the crux of this post.

I am a firm believer in following through with what you say. I would say that Politicians bother me the most next to lawyers. They put on a happy face and say they are a part of something but that’s it. They may even go as far as putting their name on a bill to be passed up the line, but again that’s it. I know the reality is they have many issues to take care of and there are only so many hours in the days. I just wonder, isn’t being a public servant/official exactly that? Where you burn the midnight oil and bust your ass for your constituents?

This post isn’t about the two candidates for President. This is about people who have the power to make legislative change for the best. Veteran issues are just one aspect. To put in perspective, everything around you would not be possible if it weren’t for veterans, past or present. So that brings me back to my original point. That would be the sense of true commitment to resolving issues that matter. If I were ever to entertain the possibility of becoming a public servant, I would listen to the people around me and commit to the fruition of issues. Maybe I am naive to think that this is not the role of a politician. Maybe it’s like the pipe dream mentality when you are a kid and you think you can become anything you want. No one bashes your dreams and explains to you that there is the educational aspect, pre-test, post-tests, qualifications and the rest of the lobotomy that either says you are qualified or not. I digress in my thoughts but the point is being a public servant is not difficult at all. At some point, beyond the great speeches you have to step up to the plate and swing. I just wonder how hard some politicians are truly swinging for me?

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The media that showed up to the event today must have been invisible. I am not just upset by it, but pissed off by the lack of coverage. I know for a fact that Harbor Homes sent out many media requests and still no one showed up. SHAME ON YOU! Well they missed a great event. The morning kicked off with the gathering of everyone. I would say there were about 50 people. Ron Gelinas was the host and did a great job. Jerry who is featured in the film made a touching speech. Jerry is such a great guy. He is one of the success stories that Harbor Homes is proud of. He now lives in his own place and works for Harbor Homes driving veterans back and forth to their appointments.

I first showed the documentary at 10:30am and the room was packed. I did give a brief intro to the film and then spoke about it after. The questions were great and I was so pleased to have been received in such a positive way. Not that I am a bad guy, but as a film maker I worry that someone may not get the film.

During the break I must have collected 20 business cards and shook more hands than I can remember. I was impressed to hear that one group came all the way from Vermont to see my film and to partake in this event. I really wish I could have had more time to talk to everyone. I got your cards so expect an email from me soon.

Nashua Mayor Lozeau and Congressman Hodes showed up just before the 2nd showing of the film. Unfortunately they didn’t get a chance to see it but hey, that’s how it is sometimes. I am respectful of their schedules; heck my schedule gets crazy at times. Maybe a private showing in the future? We’ll see.

All in all, the event went off without a hitch. I am looking forward to Harbor Homes and their involvement with building two more transitional homes for veterans. Peter Kelleher’s passion to help veterans is god’s work. The only problem is the potential lack of funds that would stall the development of these new homes. It starts at the grass root level. The media NEEDS to give some more attention to events like these. Maybe they were busy chasing a story of a stray Moose somewhere in New Hampshire. Who knows? I do know that the media yields alot of power when it comes to getting the message out. I hope the story is different in the future regarding their attendance. For the sake of the 200,000 PLUS homeless veterans that could use a safe place to sleep at night, I ask the media to take a vested interest when given an invitation from veterans.

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As promised, I am posting the media piece that was about the screening of the documentary last week. I’ve spliced it in two for your reading convenience.

I wanted to add a few comments about this article and my documentary. I talk about the plight of some veterans, I want to stress that we/they are not victims by any means. The systemic homeless process that occurs for some veterans vary. I showcased the process that commonly occurs when veterans go to war and then come back and eventually become homeless. The documentary is not slanted, it lays down the facts and reality of the current situation of veterans, old and new. I’m not blaming anyone in this documentary, but the viewer can make his/her own assumptions on who is responsible. My mindset is and has been on how to fix it. In Veteran Homelessness, I highlight the lack of resources available for proper transitional facilities such as Buckingham Place.

I will be showing the documentary at Buckingham Place on October 22nd. The RSVP information is listed within the article.

Enjoy the piece!

Page 1

Page 2

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On Thursday I showed the documentary to a group of people in my local area. I want to first thank the Nashua Library for hosting the documentary. Bruce and Carol were very accommodating. There was a small group of people that included veterans, social workers and staff members from Harbor Homes. After the documentary was done I had a short Q&A session with the audience. Overall it was a great session. There was a member of the press there and I suspect a news story will be coming soon. I will post it when it does come out.

I will be showing the documentary again at Buckingham Place  on October 22nd. There is a press release that I will add to this post. I look forward to showing this to a large audience of people who have the common interest of helping soldiers in mind.

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I will be showing the documentary titled Veteran Homelessness at the Nashua Public Library. They have a theater at their location and I really look forward to showing it there. In attendance will be Peter Kelleher from Harbor Homes and some local veterans that live at Buckingham Place. I am not sure of the other guests at this time but all are welcomed. If you happen to be in the area, send me an email and I will provide you details.

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I am currently in the planning stages for the next documentary. Behind the scenes there are many things that need to happen before the cameras roll. The lessons I learned from the first documentary was that you can’t have enough research done. In order for me to tell these stories I need to find them, then select which to film and then go to that location. The costs to travel, crew costs, etc, etc is just the basics.So I find myself filling out applications for grants and reaching out to others to possibly help. The reality is documentary’s don’t make money. They are intended to tell a story and to inject facts where it’s needed when the main stream media leaves them out.

That is the current flurry of actions that I am trying to accomplish before I begin any filming. So that is what is happening behind the scenes.

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First and foremost I want to thank Soldiers’ Angel’s for helping me get to the convention that was held in Las Vegas. Helping me get out there enabled me to connect with many great people. My documentary projects are deeply associated with the folks that came. I must say that I had the great opportunity to hang out with Matt ‘Blackfive’ Burden. He has much success in becoming as close to the media as you can possibly get without jumping that fence. He is a milblogger himself and was inspired to start his blog because of a good friend of his that was killed in Iraq. I got into Vegas last Friday and on the way over to the Mirage Resort & Casino, I sent a text to Matt to see where he was at. Food was on my mind and wanted to see if he wanted to meet. Luck would have it that he had the same plans. When I met him, Jim Hanson was with him. Jim is better known as Uncle Jimbo on Matt’s site. Jim is a riot and I look forward to talking with him more in the future. Anyway, we had a quick lunch and chatted like soldiers would do in any situation.  After lunch we went up to Matt’s suite and previewed the Veteran Homelessness documentary. I got some great feedback and some additional ideas that I think I will compliment the current documentary and other projects with.
Read the rest of this entry »

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I consider Harbor Homes a strong ally when it comes to the issues that I am focusing on with my documentary’s. Their sincere concerns are very much in line with what my focus are with veteran issues. In fact they have the premiere model for trying to eliminate veteran homelessness, that being Buckingham Place.

I plan to act as an consultant for this organization in the upcoming months. Some interesting projects are on the horizon with them and I am excited to be a part of it.

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