Proud About Pittsburgh: Thanking veterans for their service
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Veterans Day is November 11th and I want to thank all of our veterans for their service. As Americans, we owe a debt of gratitude to our military veterans.
However, something that is not talked about often enough is the transition from serving our country to civilian life.
Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest population of veterans in the country with nearly 800,000 veterans. The struggles that they endure affect all our communities.
It is estimated that 18-percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression
Only half of these veterans seek treatment. Others resort to self-medication with drugs and alcohol which often leads to their involvement with the criminal justice system.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one-in-10 veterans has a substance use disorder.
It has been estimated that 13-percent of the adult homeless population are veterans and on any given night, 40,000 veterans are unsheltered or living on the streets.
Sadly, an average of 17 veterans commit suicide every day in the United States.
In 2008, after seeing more and more young veterans in his drug and mental health treatment courts, Judge Robert Russell of Buffalo, New York took action and opened the first Veterans Court in the United States.
There are now over 400 Veterans Courts in the United States serving countless veterans.
In 2009, Pennsylvania's first Veterans Court was established in Lackawanna County by Judge Michael Barrasse. Pennsylvania now has 25 Veterans Courts along with other courts providing a veterans track in their Adult Drug and/or DUI Courts.
Based on the problem-solving court model, eligible veteran defendants with substance dependency and or mental illness are placed on a specialized criminal docket. This program is not for serious crimes or felonies.
These courts combine treatment and personal accountability with the goal of breaking the cycle of addiction and criminal behavior.
After initial screening and assessment, these veterans are offered an opportunity to participate in this voluntary program which involves judicially supervised compliance with a treatment plan developed by veteran health care professionals.
Veterans Courts emphasize a team-focused approach through collaboration and cooperation among judges, treatment providers, and veteran volunteer mentors.
I spoke about the importance of Veterans Courts with the Honorable Judge Timothy McCune of Butler County Court of Common Pleas and the presiding judge of Butler Veterans Court.
Judge McCune said, "I've seen the transition of the criminal justice system from just locking people up and throwing away the key and then when they get out, it's just a revolving door. It's a cycle.
If you don't help people get off that revolving wheel, and solve some of their problems that they have, we're not making any progress.
We're not making my community any safer and we're not making their lives and their families' lives any better.
We've seen that the treatment court concepts work. Close supervision, good identification of what is going on in people's lives, and then getting them to the resources that they need."
At graduation, these successful graduates who did not give up nor accept defeat, have become stable, employed, and substance-free. They continue to receive support and assistance through community and peer-counseling groups or the VA.
Successful Veterans Courts help keep our veterans out of prison and help them to find their way back home.
*Approximately 2,000 veterans have completed the rigorous 1-to-2-year program and have graduated from Pennsylvania's Veterans Courts.
Veterans Court is an opportunity to help those who served our country honorably by assisting and guiding them to get back on their feet and out of the criminal justice system.
I hope you take the time to thank a veteran in your life or community this weekend. We would not be safe in our country today without them.
