The 75-year-old Army veteran said he faced public scorn and the medical conditions after exposure to Agent Orange.
“I’ve been treated for prostate cancer,” Muhammad told TAPinto Newark during a veterans appreciation lunch in Branch Brook Park on Tuesday. “I’ve been treated for hepatitis C. I’ve had both my knees replaced. I’ve had radiation.”
The lunch, organized by Feeding Our Heroes , served over 100 veterans at the Essex County Cherry Blossom Welcome Center. Key for Muhammad, and others at the event, was the comradery.
“The families don’t fully understand some of the things that go on,” he said. “I still have nightmares. And I still feel hurt to this day, so there are a lot of things that go on that events like this help us with. You’re able to talk to other vets. You’re able to meet people who are a little more understanding of what you went through.”
Michael Giunta, founder of Feeding Our Heroes, said the lunch was the first in a series his organization is hosting across the state in the coming weeks.
“It’s really just paying back to the veterans and showing them how much we appreciate them for what they’ve done for us: giving us our freedom,” said Giunta, a 25-year Newark firefighter who also owns a catering business. “It’s very easygoing. We don’t really expect too much. We come out here. We show them a nice lunch, appreciate them.”
Feeding Our Heroes has fed thousands of veterans since its start in 2021. Additional lunches will be held in Burlington County, Ocean County and Middlesex County, Giunta said.
The chicken, cornbread and mac-and-cheese came with a side of help in the form of information about resources ranging from help with mental health services to assistance with housing.
“We’re offering veterans resources to help them out – anything they need: suicide prevention, housing, financial services,” Giunta said. “We’ve also got Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield here. They’re helping us out. They’re one of our biggest supporters.”
North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr., director of the county’s Division of Citizen Services, said both the county’s welfare office and the One-Stop career services were on hand.
“It’s really about trying to find ways to connect veterans to resources and services that are available to them, from information about entrepreneurship to job opportunities and social services,” said Ramos, whose Civic Association contributed for the event. “We’re setting up a system of support.”
Angel Vargas, who served in the Army and National Guard for 12 years, is a member of the Essex County Veterans Advisory Board.
“We’ve got to have more of these,” Vargas said. “And we still have to save the (approximately) 2,000 veterans who are homeless in New Jersey.”
It’s an issue that state Deputy Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Vincent Solomeno III said the state is handling. Addressing attendees, Solomeno highlighted the recently opened veterans service office at City Hall and said the state is expanding its work on veteran homelessness.
Referencing an announcement by Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, he said, the state intends to bring veteran’s who are homeless to a “functional zero” by July 1, 2026. In this year’s New Jersey budget, $31 million is set aside for the purpose, Solomeno said.
“There are 1,163 unhoused veterans in the state of New Jersey,” Solomeno said. “That is unacceptable when our moto as a state is liberty and prosperity, and we have men and women who wore our country’s uniform worry about where they’re going to sleep at night.”
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