New Film Depicting Plight Of LI Homeless Veterans Premieres In Nassau

NEW HYDE PARK, NY — Matt Simoni's work locating and helping homeless veterans on Long Island didn't stop over Christmas and the holidays. With his wife Jade Pinto, Simoni trekked into the woods in on Christmas Eve in 8 degree-weather to visit homeless encampments and check on the population he serves with his outreach group Bravo Foxtrot United Veterans.

It's a side of Long Island few see, so last year Simoni self-funded a documentary for $25,000 with Nassau County production company Hazy Sun Productions to create "Long Island's Forgotten Heroes," a one-hour long documentary showing "what it's like to be a veteran coming out of the service and not know what to do or where to go," he told Patch.

Simoni knows that experience well — he was homeless for a time after he was discharged from the Navy. Now, he hopes screening the new film will serve two purposes. The screening events help Bravo Foxtrot raise money for the outreach work they do, helping the veterans navigate medical, mental health and career assistance, and essentially finding the veterans who have slipped through the cracks and stopped trying to obtain available help, he said.

Simoni points out to the oft-repeated statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide per day in the US, and says that for every successful veteran suicide, there are 25 attempts.

"That's 550 veterans attempting suicide per day. With so many organizations helping vets, why do we still have vets dying on the street?"

Secondly, and maybe more importantly for Simoni, he hopes the film can help open some Long Islanders' minds.

"The longer [homeless peope] are homeless, the more they are judged," he said.

"People have told me after they saw the documentary that now they look at people on the street completely differently, whether it's a veteran or someone they pass every day, and that's a win for me."

The New Hyde Park screening will take place on Jan. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Inn at New Hyde Park.