California Looking To Expand Veterans Courts

California May Take Closer Look at Treatment Courts for Veterans
KQED News
Katie Orr
June 28, 2016

“One of the things that the study will look at is whether there’s opportunities for regional means of making sure that veterans have these services available to them.” Sharon Reilly

U.S. Army soldiers from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, walk off the plane as they arrive at their home base of Fort Hood, Texas, in 2011. ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Of California’s 58 counties, 25 operate courts for veterans, including six in the Bay Area. They allow vets with substance abuse issues or mental health problems to be placed in treatment rather than prison or jail.

The state Senate Veterans Affairs Committee today approved a bill that would require an evaluation of those courts, with an eye toward possibly expanding them.

Businessman Wayne Hughes Jr. is sponsoring the bill and has pledged to pay for half of the study. It is expected to cost about $200,000.

Hughes, who runs a program for veterans at his cattle ranch in San Miguel (San Luis Obispo County), says many vets have trouble adjusting when they get home.
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New Jersey Veterans Diversion Program?

Excuse me but they are far from broken. They just need help to undo the damage done by leaders who decided they would disregard 40 years of research on what combat does to them, a Congress more interested in paying back buddies by passing bills that do more harm than good and a society where all anyone has to do is say they are "helping" and then help themselves to money. 

If you think any of this is new, suggest you research how many Vietnam veterans ended up in jail. It may shock you but at least you'll know more than most of the folks in this article do. 

This is a step in the right direction but stop calling them broken.

For arrested veterans, treatment instead of criminal charges?
New Jersey 101.5
By Michael Symons
June 13, 2016

“When they come back, they are broken. And they’re expected to just turn that switch off overnight. And instead of getting medals, they are getting convictions, and they’re getting arrests,” said Chris Adams, president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Veterans who have nonviolent brushes with the law could be diverted away from courtrooms into treatment for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, under a bill being considered by lawmakers that got its first approval last week.

The “Statewide Veterans Diversion Program” aims to address addiction and mental illness issues among veterans that can often go untreated. Veterans have trouble adjusting to civilian life, or perhaps can’t sleep and turn to alcohol, and then situations spiral as they interact – or overreact – with police.

“We send these people into war to die, to get hurt, to be injured, and they don’t come back the same way even if none of that happens to them. We have a moral responsibility,” said Sen. Van Drew, D-Cape May.
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Iraq Veteran Got Reason to Change in Indiana Veterans Court Program

Veterans Treatment Court saves 'tornado of self destruction'
Northwest Indiana Times
Joyce Russell
May 21, 2016

“I was a tornado of self-destruction,” Israel Toledo

PORTAGE — For the first time in a long time Israel Toledo cares — about himself, his family and their future.

“I never saw my drinking, my anger, my aggressiveness as an issue,” said Toledo, 33, of Merrillville.

He didn’t care about being arrested for driving under the influence. Toledo said he had about six arrests under his belt and knew he’d end up with a slap on the wrist. He didn’t care, at the time, about how those arrests and his behavior affected his family.

“I was a tornado of self-destruction,” said Toledo, a U.S. Army veteran who participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

That was until his last arrest, in Porter County.

“I understood I had a problem, but I didn’t feel I had the tools to deal with the problem. They talk to you and get to the bottom of the BS,” said Toledo, adding the program also holds the participants accountable.

Now, he says, he can look himself and his parents in the eye, thanks to the court giving him a chance to start over clean and sober.

“It gives you a reason to change,” said Toledo. “I discovered me.”
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Rep. Tim Walz Writes Bill on Bad Discharges But Doesn't Know Numbers?

I was just reading Group works to reclassify discharged vets with PTSD when something made me scream. It seems that Walz wrote a bill he doesn't even understand.

On March 3, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz introduced the Fairness for Veterans Act. The bill essentially does many of the same things Nordgaard is trying to do with his group in Red Wing.

"Walz said the problem is potentially very widespread. Since 2009, at least 22,000 veterans have been discharged who have suffered PTSD or a TBI for misconduct. While not all of these incidents of misconduct can be linked to combat trauma, the potential there is big."

Big? Sure it is since it is a lot bigger than what he just said. He's writing a bill but reports do not indicate he has the slightest clue. I checked and these links are still active. Too bad Walz didn't. 

On June 7, 2013. Rep. Mike Coffman introduced an amendment to the 2014 Defense Authorization Act because of a report from the Gazette.

Coffman said his amendment came in response to a three-day series of stories in The Gazette last month detailing how the number of soldiers discharged from the Army for misconduct has surged 67 percent since 2009 at posts with the most combat troops.

This was reported on December 9, 2013 on WAMC

(Eric) Highfill and more than 100,000 other troops left the armed services with "bad paper" over the past decade of war. Many went to war, saw combat, even earned medals before they broke the rules of military discipline or in some cases committed serious crimes. The bad discharge means no VA assistance, no disability compensation, no GI Bill, and it's a red flag on any job application. Most veterans service organizations don't welcome bad paper vets, and even many private sector jobs programs for vets accept honorable discharge only.

April 1, 2015 LA Times reported this.

More than 140,000 troops have left the military since 2000 with less-than-honorable discharges, according to the Pentagon.

October 24, 2015 The Gazette reported this

The Army parted with 24,611 soldiers for discipline issues in 2012 and 2013.

The New York Times reported this February 19, 2016

Observers say the boards are overwhelmed. And, despite a growing caseload from Iraq and Afghanistan, the staff at the Army Review Boards Agency has steadily shrunk. In 2014, it had 135 employees to process 22,500 cases, according to an agency briefing.

That is just for the Army alone.

KPCC reported this number on March 16, 2016

According to data obtained by KPCC from the Defense Manpower Data Center, more than 615,000 Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force veterans were discharged with less-than-honorable discharges from 1990-2015.

Military Bad Conduct Left Over 125,000 Veterans Without Benefits

Over 125,000 veterans denied benefits by the VA – report
Reuters
Published time: 31 Mar, 2016

“The VA’s board and vague regulations are contrary to law and create a system that does not work for the VA or for veterans… and stops the agency from effectively addressing the national priorities of ending veteran suicide and homelessness,” said the report.

Tens of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with less-than-honorable discharges, many with physical and mental injuries, were being denied care by the Department of Veterans Affairs, claims a new report by a veterans’ advocacy group.

“The VA created much broader exclusion criteria than Congress provided, failing to give veterans due credit for their service to our country,” said the report by advocacy group Swords to Plowshares, published on Wednesday.

Under the 1944 GI Bill, Congress expanded eligibility for veteran benefits to almost all veterans, even those with less-than-honorable discharges, provided the misconduct was not so severe that it should have led to a trial by court-martial and a dishonorable discharge. Congress left open the door to benefits for spectrum of discharges between honorable and dishonorable, including “undesirable” and “other than honorable.”

The report found the VA labeled 90 percent of veterans with bad paper discharges as “dishonorable,” even though the military classified them differently.

“The VA’s board and vague regulations are contrary to law and create a system that does not work for the VA or for veterans… and stops the agency from effectively addressing the national priorities of ending veteran suicide and homelessness,” said the report.

Veterans with bad paper discharges were more likely to have mental health conditions and were twice as likely to commit suicide, the report found. They are also more likely to be homeless and involved with the criminal justice system.

“Yet, in most cases, the VA refuses to provide them any treatment or aid,” said the group.

The New York Times cited the example of Joshua Bunn, a US Marine Corps veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. His unit served in “one of the bloodiest valleys in Afghanistan,” killing hundreds of enemy fighters and losing more Marines than any other battalion that year.
read more here

Veterans Court Making A Difference For Those Who Served

Veterans Court helping make a difference
Sioux City Journal
Nick Hytrek
Mar 19, 2016

"It got me in touch with benefits I didn't realize I was entitled to," said Linton, an Army generator mechanic from 1992-95 who was convicted in May of first-degree theft. Completing Veterans Court is a condition of his probation.

Tim Hynds Sioux City Journal

SIOUX CITY | Standing at parade rest in a Woodbury County courtroom, Nick Sampson tells a judge about the progress he's made in his treatment for mental illness.

He believes he's been doing well while on pretrial release since his arrest last summer on a charge of reckless use of a firearm.

District Judge Jeffrey Poulson agrees, so much so that he approves Sampson's request to visit his father out of state this summer. Then Poulson promotes Sampson, an Army veteran, to Phase 3 of the Woodbury County Veterans Treatment Court and gives him a military-style dog tag with the word "Honor" stamped on it.

The dog tag is symbolic of the work Sampson has done since his arrest. But the real reward, he said, is the alternative Veterans Court has presented him.
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Army Veteran Horrified By Media Account of Dark Day

Army vet seeks to regain what was lost at Waffle House counter
Online Athens
By JOE JOHNSON
Sunday, March 13, 2016

Worthington was stung by the media’s descriptions of his appearance. “That bothers me because I’m not a man in a clown suit or a man dressed as a clown. Damn it, I am a clown,” he said. “I’d like it if people didn’t take that away from me.”

In his 25 years, Jacob Worthington has already seen and done plenty in his life.

He’s a U.S. Army combat veteran who has traveled the world working to help others. He’s a magician, who has an affinity for juggling and card tricks, seeking to entertain the crowd. He’s a classically-trained chef.

But earlier this month Worthington, whose struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder is only being compounded by drug and alcohol abuse, became fodder for the Internet.

“I am a proud man who has lived an amazing life that could fill several books and I’m only 25,” Worthington said. “To be reduced to a meth clown in a single day when I don’t even know what meth looks like is horrific.”

Worthington was arrested the morning of March 1 after a Waffle House waitress claimed she saw him smoking methamphetamine at the restaurant’s counter before locking himself in the bathroom. Earlier that night Worthington was entertaining people in downtown Athens in his clown persona and was still in costume when he walked into the restaurant on West Clayton Street.

During his deployment to Afghanistan, Worthington said he was assigned to a forward operating base as a member of a tactical psychological operations team accompanying special operations and conventional forces on missions.

“After a year of seeing things that no one should ever see I returned home the one needing help,” he said.
read more here

Kansas Veteran Get Second Chance to Heal From Court

Kansas' First Veterans Treatment Court Convenes In Johnson County 
KCUR News
By KYLE J SMITH
March 4, 2016

“This is not the easy path out. The person is supervised in some instances more heavily than they would be if they were on probation.” Dion Sankar with Jackson County's veteran court

The first Veterans Treatment Court is now in session in

Johnson County giving veterans options other than incarceration.

WIKIPEDIA -- CREATIVE COMMONS

Kansas’ first Veterans Treatment Court went into session in the Johnson County Courthouse on January 13, making the state the 41st in the nation to start such a program.

The court provides veteran offenders a diversion track through the Johnson County District Attorney’s office and a probation track offered through Johnson County District Court Services. They also link veterans with programs, benefits and services for which they are eligible.

Court officials pay special attention to conditions that may have risen as a result of active military service, including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, depression, and substance abuse.

The Veteran’s Treatment Court was spearheaded by Judge Timothy McCarthy of the 10th Judicial District of Kansas. In order for a veteran to be eligible for the court, their felony must be a level 4 or lower.
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Veterans Widow Shocked "Candy Man" Doctor Starting Practice

Fired 'Candy Man' Tomah VA chief of staff to start own practice
WTMJ Exclusive
Michelle Richards
Feb 3, 2016

TOMAH - The wife of a veteran who died from an overdose at the Tomah VA was shocked to learn the former chief of staff, whom veterans nicknamed "Candy Man," may soon be prescribing drugs to others.

Dr. David Houlihan was fired last fall after an investigation into over-prescribing painkillers at the VA Medical Center.

WTMJ has learned Houlihan is soliciting new patients in LaCrosse while also being considered for a job at a practice in Minnesota.

"I am shocked," Heather Simcakoski told WTMJ. Simcakoski's husband, Jason, died from an overdose in 2014. "I am just shocked to know he would be able to open a practice."

Houlihan has not been charged. Calls to his practice were redirected to another practice in Minnesota.
read more here

Blumenthal Wants "Full and immediate investigation" on VA Death?

Is this yet one more case of political grandstanding or what? A veteran entered an inpatient treatment program at the VA. According to reports, he got his hands on illegal drugs, left the grounds and later died. Blumenthal is all a fluster before anyone has investigated anything all hot under the collar to point his finger at the VA.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal is demanding a “full and immediate investigation”

"Veteran Zachary Greenough, who apparently suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), left the residential inpatient facility and later died of an apparent drug overdose, according to Sen. Blumenthal."

Unfortunately this type of thing has been going on for decades when veterans try to get help, sometimes reluctantly, and don't get what they need to heal. The VA programs work for a lot of veterans but not all of them. Seems Blumenthal is blaming the VA for the wrong reason and certainly not blaming members of Congress at all even though they have jurisdiction over what the VA does and does not do.

"“My staff has received information that Mr. Greenough obtained illegal drugs while living in a residential inpatient setting at the West Haven Campus,” said Sen. Blumethal in the letter. “The very egregious factual allegations concerning this tragic death, while as yet unconfirmed, raise serious questions about access to drugs and other broader issues that may implicate policies and procedures at the VA."

Wow, sounds like he's really serious.  That is until we remember it is far from new and has not improved even after all these years.

2014
IG: Vet overdosed while in VA rehab center

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan died of a heroin and cocaine overdose last year while receiving treatment at a Miami Veterans Affairs residential treatment facility, according to a VA inspector general report released Friday.

The veteran, who was in his 20s, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions as well as traumatic brain injury. He had a history of drug abuse while in the Miami VA Medical Center substance abuse residential rehabilitation program and had previously lost leave privileges for continued use of alcohol and illicit drugs.

But according to the IG report, the medical facility staff failed to check him for contraband after he had been allowed to leave for an afternoon and also failed to monitor the facility closely, increasing the potential for visitors to bring in banned substances or for patients to leave to get them.

2013
Lopatcong Township veteran's family calls for better PTSD treatment after his death

The 26-year-old Army infantryman told his mother, Laura Arace, that he had seen people die. And while neither explosives nor the enemy claimed his life, an uphill battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction did, his mother said.

He died at home Sunday of what his family suspects was a drug overdose. Arace was hospitalized for rehab and PTSD therapy more than 30 times, Laura Arace said.

“When they released him, he would say, ‘I can’t take it, because my head won’t shut up,'” she said. “The system is broken. Anybody that knew him knew he was on a mission to die,” she said, surrounded by loved ones in her Lopatcong Township home.

Arace was so determined to join the Army, he took a metal rod out of his arm himself so he could pass the entrance test, according to his mother. Ever since parents of some of his high school friends died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he wanted to serve, she said.

But he struggled to readjust to civilian life.

Deaths at Atlanta VA Hospital Prompt Scrutiny

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY
Associated Press
ATLANTA May 25, 2013 (AP)

One patient with a history of substance abuse and suicidal thoughts was left alone in a waiting room inside the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where he obtained drugs from a hospital visitor and later died of an overdose.

Another patient wandered the 26-acre campus for hours, picking up his prescriptions from an outpatient pharmacy and injecting himself with testosterone before returning voluntarily to his room.

The cases at the Atlanta VA Medical Center are the latest in a string of problems at Veterans Affairs facilities nationwide, prompting outrage from elected officials and congressional scrutiny of what is the largest integrated health care system in the country with nearly 300,000 employees.

Pennsylvania veteran awarded $3.7 M in suit against VA

Judge Munley wasn't convinced. "The testimony at trial revealed that plaintiff was initially a good patient and actively seeking help from the VA. The VA did not provide the help and medical treatment needed by the plaintiff, and as a result, plaintiff began self-medicating with alcohol and illegal drugs," he said.

The judge awarded Mr. Laskowski $214,582 for past lost earnings; $2.1 million for future lost earnings; $500,000 for past noneconomic damages, including pain and suffering, embarrassment and humiliation and loss of the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life; and $700,000 for future noneconomic damages.

He awarded Mr. Laskowski's wife, Marisol Laskowski, $140,615 for loss of consortium.

2012
Prescription drug abuse, overdoses haunt veterans seeking relief from physical, mental pain

He talked about quitting. Later that summer, after Pilgrim broke his finger in a pickup football game at Fort Sill, Okla., an Army doctor prescribed OxyContin for the pain. Use of the powerful narcotic baffled his mother: “You gave him this stuff for a broken finger?”

Getting refills was easy, she added, and it wasn’t long before Pilgrim began abusing the painkiller. “He found out very quickly he could deal with his mental health symptoms with the drugs,” Judy said.

Pilgrim ended up going AWOL four times; eventually, he was discharged from the Army. Over the next two years, he shuttled in and out of various treatment centers.

In August 2007, a month into an inpatient treatment program for post-traumatic stress disorder in Waco, Pilgrim was kicked out for fighting. Despite his history of drug abuse, he was sent home with a prescription for hydrocodone, another opiate painkiller.

Two days later, on Aug. 18, six days before his 27th birthday, his body was discovered in a room at the Relax Inn, a single-story, stucco motel within sight of the high school stadium where he’d played football. The autopsy showed a lethal level of hydrocodone and methadone. His death was ruled accidental.

2011
Settlement Reached In Suit Against VA Over Iraq War Veteran’s Death

A settlement has been reached in a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed against a local VA hospital over the death of an Iraq war veteran who suffered from PTSD. Reporter: Paul J. Gately

WACO (November 17, 2011)-A federal judge in Waco has accepted an agreed settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of an Iraq war veteran, but the details of the settlement were not released.

The suit, filed by Randy and Judy Pilgrim, of Daingerfield, sought more than $75,000 in damages in the interest of their grandson from the U.S. government and the VA Medical Center in Waco in the August 2007 death of their son, Lance.

A copy of the lawsuit obtained by News 10 says Lance Pilgrim was to be treated at the V.A. Medical Center in Waco for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that his parents say was brought on by his U.S. Army service in Iraq.

Specifically the suit says Lance Pilgrim returned from combat with severe depression, was suicidal and addicted to several drugs.

You can follow VA investigations here. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General

But it wasn't just happening at the VA.

2010

Family angered by Marine's overdose death at naval hospital
By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 29, 2010
PORTSMOUTH

Lance Cpl. Ezequiel Freire got out of Afghanistan alive, but a stateside hospital stay proved fatal.

The 20-year-old Marine's death from a prescription drug overdose at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center has left his family reeling, outraged and frustrated by what they see as an absence of accountability for those charged with his care.

Freire died of a toxic cocktail of powerful narcotics and sedatives as he was awaiting chemotherapy treatment for cancer. The case underscores the dangers inherent in the many potent painkillers on the market today, which have helped drive an alarming rise in overdoses.

Overdose deaths from prescription drugs now exceed those from illegal drugs.

It was happening in the Army as well.

2008
Army 3 drug overdose deaths and 4 suicides in Warrior Transition Unit

The Army said officials had determined that among those troops there have been 11 deaths that were not due to natural causes between June and Feb. 5.

That included four suicides, three accidental overdoses of prescribed medications, three deaths still under investigation and one motor vehicle accident, the Army said.

“Army medical and safety professionals continue to remind soldiers and their families of the importance of prescription-drug safety precautions, including following the printed directions and information for each medicine,” the Army said of the overdoses in a statement Thursday.

Noting the death of actor Heath Ledger, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker last week first disclosed the issue of drug overdoses in the 35 special transition units, which care for more than 9,500 soldiers.

There are even more but while we remember what has been going on while members of Congress get their names in the press for paying attention, it seems the press isn't interested in paying attention to the lack of results.

Vietnam Veteran Finally Gets Proper Welcome Home from Vietnam

Vietnam Veteran Receives Welcome Home He Never Had
Time Warner Cable News
By Michael Howard
Sunday, December 27, 2015

A Vietnam veteran finally got the welcome home he deserves at the Albany International Airport on Sunday evening. Reporter Michael Howard was there when Dan New arrived in the Capital Region.

COLONIE, N.Y. -- It was an emotional return back to the U.S. for Dan New after going on what's called a "reconciliation journey" to Vietnam.

The 68-year-old holds back tears when he thinks of his past, that includes serving in the Vietnam War, from April of 1967 to April of 1968, after being drafted into the Army at age 19.

Since then, the Wynantskill resident says he's battled his own war, struggling with PTSD and addiction. That's until he found a group called Soldier's Heart in Troy, that specializes in restoring the relationship between soldiers and society.

"In my mind I had always carried the memories of what I experienced when I was there," said New.

He, along with 15 others from the organization, including four Vietnam veterans and one Iraq War veteran, went on a three week trip to Vietnam, a place New hasn't returned to in more than 40 years. He experienced the culture and what were once war sites, many now unrecognizable. At one spot, all that was left was a soldier's uniform.

"It was that of an American soldier. I have a piece of it in my luggage right now," said New.
read more here

Iraq Veteran Ordered to Put Flowers on Grave After Fatal Crash?

Not sure what to make out of this story. Comment left on the site says she was not drunk at the time of the fatal accident.

Drunken driver ordered to place flowers on victim's grave
By The Associated Press
December 18, 2015

Sloan must also carry a picture of Naylor and place flowers on her grave after she gets out of prison.

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran who claims she turned to alcohol to relieve post-traumatic stress disorder has been sentenced to 2 ½ to 5 years in prison crashing and killing another Pennsylvania woman. read more here

Madison County Building Bridges in Veterans Court

Veterans Treatment Court gives second chances to soldiers who have served 
Madison Record
Hoang Tran
Dec. 14, 2015

Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli believes in second chances. In particular, he believes that veterans who have suffered the horrors of war should not be abandoned in their time of need.

Tognarelli currently presides over a specialty court created in 2009 to help veterans who have have been charged with non-violent crimes and who are dealing with a drug or alcohol problem and/or a mental health issue, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Madison County's Veterans Court was the first of its kind in Illinois, and the third such court in the country, said Tognarelli The court combine rigorous treatment for veterans facing incarceration due to charges stemming from mental health and/or substance abuse issues So far, a total of 197 veterans have been served.

It has not only helped veterans who have served in Iraq but from previous conflicts, as well.

Tognarelli said that one in six veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom suffer from a substance abuse issue; one in five show symptoms of a mental health disorder or cognitive impairment. He said that research continues to draw a link between substance abuse and combat–related mental illness.

“We have served veterans from the Korean War, Vietnam War, Bosnia, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Afghanistan," he said. "We have had veterans with significant alcohol and drug abuse problems that have benefited from the treatment provided through Veteran’s Court and the VA. The success rate is quite high, because most are highly motivated to return to a normal life and to re-establish familial ties and relationships.”
read more here

Fort Hood Federal Veterans Treatment Court Pilot Program

Veterans Court pilot program to start at Fort Hood
Killeen Daily Herald
December 9, 2015

This new program at Fort Hood is thought to be the first of its kind on a U.S. Army installation, the release stated.

FORT HOOD, TEXAS - Beginning next month, qualified veterans charged with committing misdemeanors while on Fort Hood will be eligible to participate in a pilot program designed to provide an alternative to a federal conviction, according to a news release from the Fort Hood Public Affairs Office.

The Fort Hood Federal Veterans Treatment Court, "Veterans Endeavor for Treatment and Support" or "VETS," will work to divert veterans with service-connected mental health or substance abuse disorders out of the court system and into enduring treatment solutions with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This initiative will be supervised by United States District Court Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. and run by United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske with the support of United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr. for the Western District of Texas, the release stated.
read more here

PTSD Gulf War Veteran Gets New Wheels

Valley vet wins vehicle for heartwarming life story
KPHO News
By Jason Volentine
Nov 26, 2015

PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - A Valley veteran got an early holiday surprise after a string of bad luck and a battle with addiction.

He's turned his life around and won a car for his efforts.

“Oh my goodness.Yeah! Alrighty!” said Douglas Jackson, starting his new car for the first time.

The sound of the engine turning over was the sound of a page turning in Jackson’s life. “My children are just going to be so happy. They've been having to go around on buses and riding bikes and everything. It's going to give me a whole new life with my children,” he said.

The U.S. Marine veteran served in the first Gulf War. He helped sweep mine fields so troops with heavy equipment could make it safely from the bases in Kuwait to the battlefields in Iraq.

But years after the battles faded from the headlines, the things Jackson experienced remained unforgettable. Post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism sent him into a spiral that cost him many things, including a place to live and a car to drive.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran With PTSD At Bay Pines for 36 Years

Florida VA Clinic Provides Care for Vets With PTSD 
Department of Defense
By Shannon Collins
DoD News Features
November 24, 2015

Taylor, a Marine Corps and Vietnam War veteran who’s worked with the VA for more than 36 years and has PTSD himself, said he’s seen many positive changes in the VA for the treatment of PTSD.

Army veteran Manuel “Al” Alcantara, right, and Vietnam veteran Jim Alderman share stories beside a duck pond after a day’s therapy at the inpatient post-traumatic stress disorder clinic at Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Fla., Oct. 29, 2015. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

BAY PINES, Fla., November 24, 2015 — For veterans who may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to wartime trauma or military sexual trauma, their first step is to contact their local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center or outpatient center.

But if veterans require more care, they can voluntarily check in at inpatient centers such as the Bay Pines VA Medical Center here.

Bay Pines has a 14-bed residential program for veterans with war-caused PTSD and a separate wing for veterans with PTSD caused by military sexual trauma.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ PTSD website, military sexual trauma, or MST, is the term used by the VA to refer to experiences of sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that a veteran experienced during his or her military service.

The definition for military sexual trauma used by the VA comes from federal law -- Title 38 U.S. Code 1720D. Under that law, MST is defined as: "Psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training."

Sexual harassment is further defined by the law as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character."

Bay Pines is the only VA inpatient facility that treats PTSD caused by MST, said Tony Taylor, program manager for the warzone PTSD program at Bay Pines.
read more here

PTSD Veterans Turn to ICE in Australia

Young military veterans turn to drugs to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, Senate inquiry hears
ABC News Australia
By Political Reporter Tom Iggulden
November 17, 2015

Young Australian military veterans struggling with mental illness after active service are increasingly turning to the drug ice to cope, a Senate inquiry will hear on Wednesday.

Homes for Heroes program director Geoff Evans told AM ice had become a problem for returned servicemen.

The Homes for Heroes program offers 79 places to homeless veterans, whose struggle with mental illness on their return from duty usually results in a dependence on drugs or alcohol.

Mr Evans will give evidence to the inquiry into veterans' homelessness.

"It is a very different drug to alcohol, because it involves a degree of psychosis and addiction that we just have not dealt with before," he said.
read more here

Veterans Day in Court Has Judge Fighting For Accused

Coping with court: Vietnam vets helping younger veterans in trouble 
Daily Herald
Kurt Hanson
September 18, 2015

“All of the members are veterans,” McVey said. “That’s not the case in most other veteran’s courts around the country. In fact it may not be the case in any other veteran’s court around the country, although they do have veterans involved.”

Veterans services coordinator Randy Edwards, second from right, poses for a portrait with veteran mentors Andrew Wilson, Rich Thayer, and Ken Baschke at the Historic County Courthouse in Provo on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. GRANT HINDSLEY, Daily Herald

When an individual commits a crime and goes through the court process, they typically face two outcomes — freedom or imprisonment.

For veterans who commit crimes, another option is available that targets treatment instead of incarceration.

Veteran’s Court

The Veteran’s Court in Fourth District Court in Provo has existed since the beginning of the year and has helped in the treatment of many veterans who wound up on the wrong side of the law. But veteran’s court isn’t like most courtrooms. In veteran’s court, mentors who are past veterans become best friends with these men who many would turn away from once they hear of their criminal activity. They applaud them for their victories, an abnormality in the courtroom.

To become eligible for veterans court, defendants must first be determined qualified to be eligible for court by meeting certain conditions. Once they’re accepted, they must take a plea in abeyance for their crime. The veterans then attend court meetings, receive special treatments but more importantly, bond with their brothers in arms.

“There’s a saying, ‘There’s nothing like talking to another veteran,’” said Judge Samuel McVey, who oversees the veteran’s court. Most of the veterans currently in his court are veterans of the more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. McVey is a Marine Corps veteran.
read more here

Orange County Veteran Court Needs Mentor Veterans

Orange County programs give veterans a second chance

Programs designed to help vets who landed on wrong side of the law
WESH 2 News Orlando
By Michelle Meredith
UPDATED 6:21 PM EDT May 07, 2015 

"This is as beneficial to me as it is to them because we all left the military with issues,” said Orange County Judge Jerry Brewer, who is a former U.S. Marine.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —Florida has the second highest number of veterans in the United States, and when those service members return home, many find themselves fighting different battles, like homelessness, unemployment and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Orange County has created two specialized programs that are designed to address the needs of veterans within the criminal justice system. 

Clyde Walker went from serving his country to serving time. He said he came home from Vietnam a changed man. 

“Vietnam was hell,” Walker said. “Sometimes you see your brothers with an arm gone or a leg gone. Life is totally different … for a long, long time I didn't have control of me." 

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, up to 20 percent of veterans who recently returned home have PTSD. 

The National Center for PTSD said 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans dealt with the disorder in their lifetime. 

Whether they’re dealing with addiction or anger management, many veterans with PTSD act out in ways that land them behind bars. 

“We all make mistakes. There is opportunity for recovery. I am a big believer in second chances, if you genuinely want a second chance,” Orange County Jail Chief Cornita A. Riley said. 

The Orange County jail not provides dorms reserved exclusively for veterans. 

The dorms house up to 30 inmates and run like the military.
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 For more information of Florida Veterans' Court go here

Sacramento Veterans Court Giving Veterans Another Chance

Sacramento Veterans Court Gives Those Who Served Another Chance And A Helping Hand
CBS Sacramento
August 21, 2015

The specialized court is their compass, and the man leading the charge is a veteran of the Vietnam era.

“It’s been very gratifying for me–particularly gratifying that we have veterans in our program from the Vietnam era,” he said. “Those are a group of vets I think who were largely overlooked for a long, long time.”

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It’s been a year since CBS13 took viewers inside a specialized courtroom designed to give veterans who commit crimes a second chance.

It’s an unusual spot to hold a graduation ceremony, but that’s what’s happening inside Department 1 of the Sacramento County Superior Courthouse. It’s where Judge David Abbot is not handing down a sentence or giving jury instructions—he’s extending a lifeline to those who have risked their lives fighting for our country.

The Sacramento County Veterans Treatment Court allows certain defendants who have experienced combat to have their criminal records wiped clean. They need to complete a 120 to 18-month program where they have to stay sober, not re-offend, and meet with the judge, a mentor, and a probation officer on a regular basis.
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