Rally fizzles at Home of the Brave

There was no fanfare, no hot dogs and no Eric Bodenweiser at the Home of the Brave Feb. 10.

Bodenweiser had been promoting a rally, urging members of the community to gather at the Milford shelter to support homeless veterans and to demand Home of the Brave board Chair Greg Fuller resign, but Bodenweiser did not show up.

The Cape Gazette contacted Bodenweiser for comment, but he did not respond. 

Fuller had put Bodenweiser on notice that protestors were not welcome on the Home of the Brave property. A no-trespassing sign was put up at the entrance.

Along with Jim Martin, Bodenweiser runs the Shepherd’s Office shelter in Georgetown. He has offered to take in any Home of the Brave residents who want to leave. As of Feb. 9, no residents had left. 

Three former Home of the Brave board members, Carl Phelps, Tina Washington and Janet Sansone, and a few other people did show up to support the cause.

They stood on the side of Sharps Road and talked about their concerns that Fuller is having a negative impact on the veterans who live there. They want him out.

“We have the same goal: the removal of Greg from the board and to get some fresh board members in, since they’ve been there 15 to 20 years,” said Phelps, who previously served as board treasurer.

The former board members wanted to be clear that their efforts to get Fuller removed are not directly connected to Bodenweiser. 

“We acknowledge what Eric was doing, but we are very separate from him and we want to keep it that way,” Sansone said.

She said the fact that Bodenweiser’s rally did not materialize will not deter them from their mission to get Fuller out.

All three former board members either quit or were removed by Fuller’s hand-picked board late last year. Rene Flores and Tim Lewis also left the board.

Fuller denies all accusations. He says homeless veterans are getting all of the resources they require. 

He points to a quarterly audit by the Veterans Administration that was completed in December. He said the organization passed with flying colors.

Phelps said the VA audit involves inspectors looking at the kitchen, building and fire safety, and the organization’s staffing records. He said the VA only looks at the money it gives to Home of the Brave as part of a per diem contract. He said the VA does not look at how money from donations is spent.

“They could not have passed. They were not fully staffed,” said Washington.

The former board members allege there is collusion between Fuller and the VA.

The VA audit started before former Executive Director Heather Travitz resigned. 

Travitz has accused Fuller of creating a hostile work environment; she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

Fuller said there is still an ongoing investigation into wrongdoing within the organization that prevents him from revealing any more details.

Fuller and his current board of directors recently hired Barry Hamp as the organization’s new executive director. Hamp is the former executive director of Oncology Services at Beebe Healthcare’s Tunnell Cancer Center.

Fuller is the current Sussex County register of wills.