US Vets at Brave New Films

Meet the “Non-Existent” Vets: Ryan Sussman

2008-07-16T14:03:03Z

Ryan was the first vet I interviewed that day at U.S. Vets. As I talked to him, I simply couldn’t believe that Ryan was just 21. It’s not that he didn’t look young, but the way he talked and what he was talking about reflected the experiences of someone much older.

By the age of 18, Ryan was fending for himself and figuring out what to do with his life while I was enjoying the training wheels/daycare we know as college. During his two and a half years in the Navy, Ryan was grappling with the forces of life and death. When he got out, Ryan was forced to experience the warped priorities of our government and face a country that claims to revere soldiers while leaving them out in the cold. At 21, I was coasting through my senior year of college, trying not to think about the future. At 21, Ryan had done what he was supposed to, but had no idea what the future held. At 21, Ryan was homeless, and the country he served didn’t give a damn.

Meet the “Non-Existent” Vets: Fletcher C. Hicklen

2008-07-09T13:23:50Z

Bill O’Reilly says he can’t find any homeless veterans. After a few hours of calling, I was able to find several hundred. One of them was Fletcher C. Hicklen.

To make FOX ATTACKS! “Non-Existent” Veterans, I had arranged to interview three veterans at U.S. Vets — an organization that provides treatment, transitional housing, and classes to homeless vets — but Fletcher wasn’t one of them. After shooting the interviews, my cameraman, Phil, and I walked around US Vets looking for a few vets who wanted to send a quick message to Bill O’Reilly. I met Fletcher in US Vets’ computer lab, where vets can learn how to use computers and have internet access.

Like most of the vets I met that day, Fletcher had a lot to say. He told me about how proud he was to serve. He told me what an honor it had been to shake the hand of George HW Bush when he came to Honduras aboard Air Force One to thank the troops stationed there. He also told me that vets get a “raw deal” in America and are not given the respect they deserve.

Fletcher also told me that he had spent many a night sleeping under a bridge when he was homeless in Michigan. He slept under a bridge where three men had frozen to death just a few weeks before. Fletcher told me he often went to sleep praying the same thing wouldn’t happen to him.

FOX Denies Entrance to Veterans Demanding an Apology from O’Reilly

2008-07-25T13:48:35Z

If you were around the FOX building in New York City today, you might’ve noticed that an impromptu press conference had broken out right in front. That’s because a group of veterans tried to deliver our 17,000-strong petition to Bill O’Reilly demanding an apology to homeless vets, and FOX wouldn’t let them in the door.

Two weeks ago, after hearing BOR’s second denial of the existence and significance of America’s 200,000 homeless vets, I took a trip to U.S. Vets in Inglewood, CA to see if I could find any of the homeless vets that BOR claimed he couldn’t find. I found them and talked to them. That night, BNF launched a video, FOX ATTACKS! “Non-Existent” Veterans, along with an open letter demanding that O’Reilly apologize for his factually-challenged statements. To date, over 96,000 people have seen the video and over 17,000 signed the letter.

So today at 3pm ET, five vets, Carol (executive director of the Fitzgerald House, an organization that provides transitional housing for homeless veterans), documentary filmmaker Dan Lohaus, and field producer Robin went to the FOX building to deliver the petition, along with a reporter from the Daily News and a local TV crew. But it wasn’t so easy.

Homeless Veterans — For Some, Not Homeless Enough

2008-07-09T16:24:50Z

The veterans I talked to for FOX ATTACKS! "Non-Existent" Veterans are homeless. But for some, including Bill O'Reilly, it seems that these vets are not homeless enough.

gregmonk5
Who paid these actors...i mean homeless vets to get the bluetooth head sets, the nice hair cuts, the sharp dresses.... hmm

Raziorizzo
While I am not denying that homeless vets do exist , I noticed , while watching the video, the a couple of people you described as " homeless vet" had a clean shirt and tie on. That just made me wonder.

CoachFogg
Was that a homeless man with a blue tooth ear piece for his cell phone! Yea he must be poor. what a bunch of BullS%^&.

TylerNull
Of all their baseless tactics, posing as a homeless vet is one of the NeoLibs most despicable.

Stankinlincoln
Notice how you didn’t see any ‘Homeless’ Veterans in this video? Once ‘Homeless’ yes but not ‘Homeless’. BravewNewFilms is a propagandist

To those who say that these vets are not homeless, I have a question: HOW HOMELESS DO YOU WANT THEM TO BE?

Should these men be wearing dirty clothes that stink of urine? Should their faces be grimy, their hair greasy and knotted? Should these vets be mumbling gibberish to invisible voices? Should all of their possessions fit in a shopping cart? Should they be living in tents or, perhaps, under bridges? Then will they be “homeless” enough for you?

Do these veterans have too much self-respect for you? Really, how the fuck do you want them to dress? How bad should their personal hygiene be until they satisfy your definition of "homeless"?

These vets are trying to get work, make a living, get some education, and have their own place to live, just like you and me. Several of the vets I spoke to were coming from or going to work. They need to dress well and look presentable, just like you do when you’re at work or school or trying to find a job. Then, when they get back to their room at US Vets at the end of the day, they get changed into more comfortable clothes, just like I and, perhaps, you do. Places like the Salvation Army and Goodwill sell very affordable business clothes, including suits and ties. In fact, you probably walk by homeless people every day without knowing it. You might even work with or have hired a homeless person — many homeless people have jobs but still can’t afford a place to live. The vast majority of homeless people don’t want people to know that they are homeless — being homeless against your will is nothing to be proud of.