‘Veterans Don’t Deserve to Be Invisible’: How One Vet Saved a Homeless Brother and Sparked a Movement
After seeing a disabled vet ignored, Army vet Rick Mulligan stepped in—and sparked a powerful mission
Key Takeaways
- Army vet Rick Mulligan launched the Veterans Care Project after seeing an ignored disabled vet.
- The nonprofit provides care packages, holiday meals, and support to VA hospital patients.
- Rick partnered with Buddy Check to host outing events and help lower veteran suicide rates.
A chance encounter with a disabled veteran left fellow Army vet Rick Mulligan shaken and concerned. He had to do something, and what came next became his second call to service. Here, he shares his story with Woman’s World.
Rick Mulligan was driving home from work on a hot day when he passed a fast-food parking lot in Hampton, Virginia, and spotted a man in an electric wheelchair with no lower legs. Veteran—Please help! read the flag he waved. Yet no one paid him the slightest attention.
That’s not right, Rick thought.
He parked his truck, walked over and introduced himself. “My name’s Rick. I’m also a vet.”
“I’m Randolf,” the man replied. “I’ve been trying to get into the VA, but they’re full. I have to wait, but my landlord’s getting sore with me about rent.”
Rick felt the man’s frustration down to his bones.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
A short while later, Rick returned with cash, a bag of sandwiches, an umbrella and a cooler full of bottled water to help fend off the summer heat.
Rick was still fuming when he got home and told his wife what happened.
“Veterans don’t deserve to be invisible,” he groused.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” she asked. Rick knew he had to do something.
Sharing hope with veterans
The very next day, Rick went to his bank and spoke with the manager, who is also a veteran.
“How hard would it be to set up an account so I can start fundraising for needy veterans?”
“Done,” the manager said five minutes later.
Rick reached out to friends, coworkers and roofing material suppliers. Within a month, he’d raised more than $3,000.
He assembled care packages with blankets, socks and toiletries and delivered them to the local VA hospital.
Rick knew this was only beginning.
He soon turned his mission into a nonprofit called the Veterans Care Project, and he and volunteers assembled more care packages, then hosted a huge Christmas feast complete with holiday gift bags for Wounded Warriors.
He has also expanded the effort with celebrations for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and, most recently, Labor Day.
Restaurants and local businesses donated food, while volunteers grilled burgers and hot dogs with all the fixings, served pizza to hospital staff and spent the afternoon laughing and swapping stories with veterans in the spinal cord injury unit and community center.
Rick and his mom always made a point of showing extra love to the veterans hospice unit.
“Of all our vets we help out, these are the ones who need to know most that we’re in their corner,” he said.
Love in action
Recently, Rick teamed up with Buddy Check, a group that pairs at-risk veterans with a friend to help lower suicide rates. Soon, they’ll also offer fishing trips, museum visits and other outings.
In the meantime, Rick remains a familiar face at the VA hospital.
“They really look forward to you and the guys visiting. When they know you’re coming, they always get excited,” a hospital administrator recently told Rick.
But it was a chance encounter at Walmart that showed Rick just how much the visits meant.
He was heading to the checkout when a man approached him.
“I know you—you’re the veteran guy!” he exclaimed.
When Rick nodded, the man stepped forward and wrapped him in a bear hug.
“I’m an outpatient, but I spend a lot of time at the VA hospital. I don’t have any family left, but you and the other guys are my family now. You haven’t forgotten us.”
“And we never will,” says Rick, his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t care where you served. If you’re a veteran, you’re also my brother.”
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