'Good can come out of something so horrible': Larry's Home will help Ocean County veterans

LITTLE EGG HARBOR - As the shovels dug into the dirt, Ken Walter was fighting back the tears.

His nephew, Larry Robertiello, had enlisted in the Army after graduating from Southern Regional High School, drove tanks during two tours of Iraq from 2001-2004, then came home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. That led to drug addiction and, after three attempts at rehab, an overdose death in 2022.

Now, a little over two years later, Robertiello is being honored in the most meaningful way possible. A transitional home for Ocean County male veterans trying to overcome addiction is being built in Little Egg Harbor , and ground was broken Aug. 15.

Its name: Larry’s Home.

“It’s pretty emotional,” said Walter, who lives in Little Egg Harbor. “I think Larry would be completely amazed. This is a legacy that he left. It’s a horrible thing to have happened, but it just shows you that good can come out of something so horrible.”

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'We need a thousand of these'

Larry’s Home is the latest undertaking of Just Believe Inc., a nonprofit that advocates for Ocean County’s homeless and at-risk population. Its founder, Paul Hulse, grew up with Robertiello in Waretown.

The planned four-bedroom ranch, located just off Route 9, will house as many as six veterans for periods up to 12 months apiece. Residents will have case managers and be required to attend recovery meetings. Unless prevented by a disability, Hulse said, they are expected to either hold a job or volunteer in the community.

Just Believe raised $100,000 in donations for the project, and Hulse said he personally signed his name to a $292,000 loan from Manasquan Bank to cover the rest. Donated goods and services also have been pouring in. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 400 will be donating labor, Starbucks presented a $6,000 check, and several veterans groups in the area are pitching in.

The biggest gift came from Kristi and Bryan Leary, Little Egg Harbor residents who donated the wooded plot of land.

Kristi discovered Just Believe in 2021 after an eye-opening encounter: She was walking out of a store in Stafford when she saw a teenager curled up on a yoga mat outside, trying to sleep. Upon approaching him, she learned he was homeless and had fled a shelter in Atlantic City. After a frantic search to find him some help, she connected with Hulse and Just Believe, who “bent over backwards to help him,” Kristi recalled.

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As fate would have it, she also knew Larry Robertiello growing up.

“A very, very good guy who gave himself to the service,” Kristi said. “These (veterans suffering from PTSD) are guys that are pretty much shafted by the government, let’s be honest. This is going to save lives.”

Addressing any concerns of nearby residents, she said: “It’s not going to be a party house, it’s not going to be a drug house, it’s going to a house that continues to give year after year.”

She added: “We need a thousand of these.”

'Larry is a hero'

Larry’s Home is the first place of its kind in Ocean County. There is always going to be a degree of neighborhood tension about these kinds of initiatives, but a telling roster of officials attended the groundbreaking, including state Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, R-Ocean, Frank Sadeghi from the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, and former Toms River Mayor Maurice "Mo" Hill.

Hill praised the work Just Believe did in establishing and running Toms River’s Code Blue overnight warming center over the past seven winters — an initiative whose future in the Riverwood Park Recreation building is uncertain (“facing a bump in the road,” is how Hill phrased it) under the town’s current leadership.

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Hulse has converted skeptics before. Sauickie admitted to being one until he witnessed the nonprofit’s work firsthand.

“The interest I have in Just Believe is incredibly high, which is what brought me here today,” Sauickie said at the groundbreaking. “To Larry’s family I’ll say this: Make no mistake about it — Larry is a hero.”

Those words carry deep meaning for Larry’s family. His mother Nancy Robertiello, who was unable to attend the groundbreaking due to illness, said via text message that “I am so proud of the work Just Believe has done to make Larry’s Home happen.”

As construction gets underway and an idea starts to become reality, Larry's uncle echoed that sentiment.

“To lose a child is so difficult,” Ken Walter said, “but I know it means a lot that his name will be on a house that’s going to do a lot of good.”

For more information about Just Believe Inc. or Larry’s Home, visit www.justbelieveinc.org or www.facebook.com/justbelieveinc .

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Good can come out of something so horrible': Larry's Home will help Ocean County veterans