01/07/2025
A Letter of Support for Jeremy Harrell: Real Knows Real
I have been wearing this topic out for over a month now, mainly because it is a topic that needs worn out and a story that needs to be told over and over until the right people hear this craziness, the whole story just one of those mysteries an injustices I don’t think I will ever truly understand.
So when someone recently asked me how I could so passionately support someone I’ve never met, someone who now sits at the center of controversy, my response was simple: real knows real. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my fifty-plus years of life, navigating everything from rock-bottom lows to soaring highs, it’s that authenticity that doesn’t need an introduction.
Jeremy Harrell didn’t come into my life through a handshake or a personal connection. I learned about him in my journey to create a nonprofit organization dedicated to veterans like myself—an organization focused on healing, advocacy, and practical solutions for issues like mental health and homelessness. In my initial research, I 1st looked at the larger older organizations like the VFW while a great organization, that does enormous good, I was envisioning a smaller, board ran, without paid memberships. The first smaller organization that checked all of my boxes was the Veteran's Club it kept popping up, along with its dynamic CEO, Harrell.
I didn’t need to meet him to see what he was about. His passion was clear in every story I read, every interview I watched. He was doing the work many of us dream of, creating real change for veterans and first responders while embracing his own healing. He was authentic. He was vulnerable in sharing his own mental health life struggles with numerous veterans over the years showing them all, sharing was a sign of strength, not weakness. He wasn’t just talking the talk; he was living it. Jeremy Harrell didn’t just advocate for veterans; he was a veteran who embodied the resilience and determination we strive to instill in others.
But here’s the kicker: being too good at what you do can make enemies.
Harrell's organization was achieving results that big-budget agencies like the VA were failing in, largely due to trust our veterans are steadily losing with VA programs, some departments in the Va were so desperate for veteran attendance, they asked Harrell if they could use Veteran's Club headquarters (the same Va who would later convict him as a felon) just so vets would show up for their programs, unlike the equine therapy initiative, it wasn’t just innovative, they were saving lives. His success wasn’t built on flashy funding or bureaucratic red tape. It was built on the backs of volunteers and donations, driven by a simple mission: veterans helping veterans.
And somehow, that ruffled the wrong feathers.
Instead of celebrating his achievements, the system turned its sights on him. They accused him of fraud because he dared to serve while receiving benefits. Let that sink in—he didn’t profit from his work. He didn’t pocket a dime. His “crime” was helping others while healing himself, something the VA should champion, not punish.
Jeremy Harrell didn’t violate the spirit of the law. He embodied its highest ideals.
Let’s be real about what happened here. The VA, with its unlimited funding and inefficiencies, saw someone like Jeremy, a guy making waves, creating solutions, and building hope, and couldn’t handle the truth of his success. They twisted technicalities to make an example of him, sending him to prison for the “crime” of helping others without asking for anything in return.
It’s maddening, but it’s also predictable. When systems fail to adapt, they attack those who show them what’s possible.
What the VA didn’t count on is the resilience of a man like Jeremy Harrell. They might have won a battle, but they’ll lose the war. Because Jeremy isn’t just a leader; he’s a movement. And when he walks out of prison in six months, his voice will only be louder, his reach broader, and his impact even greater.
So, why do I support him? Because I know what it’s like to face life’s darkest moments and come out stronger. Because I’ve felt the sting of judgment and the weight of unfairness. Because I’ve learned that the strongest people are those who take their pain and turn it into purpose.
Jeremy Harrell isn’t a criminal. He’s a threat to the powers that be, doing more with pennies than the Va achieves with millions of dollars of budget. And I’ll stand by him, not because it’s easy, but because it’s right.
This isn’t just about one man. It’s about what he represents: the courage to fight for what’s right, Harrell was offered a plea deal with no jail time yet instead of taking the offer, trying to be coursed into handing over his integrity & dignity by just admitting he was guilty he turned down the deal because he is innocent.
if the VA thinks they’ve silenced him, they’re more wrong than the guilty verdict was. Real doesn’t fold. Real doesn’t quit.
Harrell? He’s real as it gets. After my support of the Harrell family on social media, they reached out and messaged me. Which started a dialogue that pretty much proved what I had already known. Real knows real. The Va wanted to make an example of an intelligent powerful voice that is constantly on point with his message of the inefficiencies within the Va and the government. Unfortunately for them, in an unjust act to silence and discourage these voices, all you did was motivate us to speak more loudly, clearly and intelligently. So thank you for that.
Keep pushing forward, brother. You’ve got an army of supporters behind you, ready to amplify your voice and stand with you every step of the way.
In solidarity,
Jamie Berry
