Grant to fund treatment, not just punishment, for former military members
Posted on January 23rd, 2012
A judge has seen veterans fall into alcohol, drugs or violence after returning home from war, and he wants to help them out.
Greenwood City Court Judge Lewis Gregory plans to set up a veterans treatment court that would be one of about 80 nationwide, but the first of its kind in central Indiana. The program would try to rehabilitate veterans charged with crimes that resulted at least partly from their wartime service.
Greenwood was one of 30 communities nationwide this year to receive to a U.S. Department of Justice grant to set up its own veterans court to help troubled veterans who have broken the law.
“They have a different set of issues than most of the folks that we see,” Gregory said. “They appear to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when they describe to our case managers that they’re anxious, afraid of loud noises, unable to sleep, having bad dreams and things of that nature.”
A veterans court would differ from a traditional court because it would require that veterans get counseling or other treatment as part of their sentence. They might not otherwise get the treatment they’re entitled to through the Veterans Administration, Gregory said.
“They seem to drift into criminal behavior as an outgrowth of what’s going on between their ears,” he said. “If any of this is attributable to their service to the country, we have an obligation to do what we can to help them.”
The Greenwood City Court is getting federal money that’s expected to cover the full cost of training in Buffalo, N.Y. Gregory, court staffers and planning group members plan to travel to New York for a few days to study the nation’s first veterans court.
Communities across the country, including Evansville, have set up specialized courts to serve the veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And Buffalo set up the first one in 2008, Gregory said.
The Greenwood City Court also has seen more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have suffered psychological wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Gregory said. They typically commit drug- and alcohol-related crimes or domestic battery, he said.
His court handled about 1,500 criminal cases last year and, in at least 15 of them, probation officers determined that wartime psychological trauma was a factor, Gregory said.
But the actual number of cases could be higher because veterans don’t always reveal that they’re having problems or experiencing symptoms of trauma, chief probation officer Jodie Rittman said.
“Normally the veterans aren’t telling us or disclosing it,” she said. “They can be a little standoffish about it because they still have that soldier mentality that they’re OK and don’t need any extra help.”
Greenwood’s recovery court has dealt with veterans who had post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, Rittman said. They become prone to substance abuse or get into domestic disputes.
“We’ve talked with them about an inability to reintegrate back into society and almost a kind of embattled mentality,” she said. “They have flashbacks, heightened awareness and are still concerned with their life at every minute.”
Veterans occasionally cope by self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, Gregory said.
They should be held responsible for any crimes they commit, but they also need treatment for the psychological and physical issues that cause them to run afoul of the law, he said.
“We cannot and should not overlook any criminal violations,” he said. “But if they went out and got messed up serving their country, we should get them help.”
The veterans court would refer defendants to evaluations and treatment at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Indianapolis. They would have to get treatment from the VA while following other requirements of being on probation, such as being subjected to random drugs screens.
Veterans also could be referred to take part in peer support group discussions offered by Warrior’s Hope, a Greenwood-based organization that offers counseling and peer support to veterans.
“This will address a need for a few young veterans who have gone afoul of the law,” said Loren Minnix, president of Warrior’s Hope. “They’ll get the type of help that they need. It’s a very crucial issue for those who have returned from deployment, and hopefully we can help them regain some normalcy.”
Veterans from every branch of the military would be eligible to go through the court, Gregory said. Veterans of any conflict, and even those who haven’t fought in combat, could participate in the treatment court.
Gregory said he’s still researching exactly how the court would set up, but said it would be part of the city’s recovery court that aims to help people overcome substance abuse. He expects that existing recovery court staff could handle all the duties of the new court and that it wouldn’t cost much to operate.
The Greenwood City Court could get federal grant dollars to pay operating expenses, but the court probably could cover all the costs with the money that’s already budgeted for the recovery court, Gregory said.
He expects to have the new veterans court set up by as soon as this summer. His hope is that Johnson County criminal courts eventually would refer any troubled veterans they encounter to the city court.
“Hopefully this will put individuals on the path to recovery from their injuries, get them reunified with their families, free of substance abuse, able to sleep at night and closer to the person they were before the service,” he said. “For the community, hopefully it will mean a reduction in crime, substance abuse and temper blow-ups. It should be a win-win.”
By JOSEPH S. PETE
Daily Journal staff writer
