Since January of this year, Buffalo City Court Judge Robert
Russell has presided over the first U.S. (and to date, only) veterans treatment
court. The court is located in Buffalo, NY. The goal of this treatment court is to provided
much-needed help and counseling for military veterans instead of sending them to jail.
“The defendants all are military veterans or family members.
The court typically handles non-violent offenses, Russell said, with the
veterans required to get mental health or addiction counseling, find jobs, stay
clean and sober and get their lives back on track” (Daneman).
The court meets one or twice a week. Defendants report back
to the court on their progress once a month, and on average make enough
progress after a year in treatment court to have their charges either reduced
or their case dismissed. The concept of a veterans treatment court is especially important for the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression.
"It's
just a fantastic idea, instead of punishing them, honoring them for their
service," said C. West Huddleston, CEO of the National Association of Drug
Court Professionals, a non-profit organization started in 1994 to advocate for
drug courts.
"Unfortunately,
the courts are seeing an increase in veterans emerging who have some real
specialized needs," he said. "Ultimately we're trying to save
people's lives and transform them back to health."
Huddleston
predicted "there will be a number of communities that follow the lead of
Buffalo," but neither he nor the VA were aware of others ready to emerge.
(Daneman)
Read the
full article here.
What do you
think of the concept of treatment courts? Do you think this will help veterans
who are having problems readjusting to life after service?
