chaptersinaction Back On Track
Local veterans treatment courts receive support from MOAA chapter members who provide donations and mentor veterans who run afoul of the law.
M
any veterans struggle with the invisible wounds of war such as
post-traumatic stress (PTS) or trau- matic brain injury (TBI). Others battle with substance abuse or men- tal illness. When these problems go untreated, some veterans act out and end up in the criminal justice system. In 2008, the nation’s first veterans
treatment court (VTC) was founded in Buffalo, N.Y., to help veterans charged with crimes get their lives back on track — and avoid a criminal record — by giving them the option to get treatment. Today, the VTC con- cept has spread to hundreds of juris- dictions nationwide. The Pikes Peak (Colo.) Chapter
(
www.ppcmoaa.org) supports a VTC in Colorado Springs, Colo., which serves veterans and active duty ser- vicemembers who run afoul of the law. Since 2014, the chapter has do- nated $3,100 to the Colorado Springs VTC. Chapter Secretary Cmdr. Milady “Bunny” Blaha, USN (Ret), also used credit card reward points to purchase 40 $25 gift cards, which were given to veterans who were excelling in their treatment program. Blaha has served as a volunteer peer mentor for the Colorado Springs VTC for three years. Like other peer mentors, she accompanies her men- tees to court, monitors their welfare,
42 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2016
connects them with local resources, acts as a sounding board, provides transportation when needed, and helps them obtain food and housing. Twice, Blaha temporarily has
taken veterans into her home until they could find housing. She also pur- chased a four-bedroom house in 2014 and began renting rooms to veterans who need short-term housing. “These are people like the people I
served with,” says Blaha. “That’s why I became a peer mentor and advocated that our chapter support our local vet- erans treatment court.”
Helping others Members of the Atlanta Chapter (
www.atlmoaa.com) helped start a VTC in Cobb County, Ga., and chapter President Maj. Bill Howerton, USAR (Ret), runs the volunteer veterans’ mentoring program. Howerton knows about the struggles returning veterans face. His PTS went undiagnosed and untreated for three years. Now, he supports other veterans who are re- ceiving the treatment they need. In 2014, chapter members paid
for Howerton to attend the 2nd An- nual Vet Court Con in Anaheim, Calif., where he learned how to train other veteran mentors. Howerton put the training to good use and now has 27 volunteer veteran mentors. At press time, these veteran mentors
On the road: This month, Col. Barry Wright, USA (Ret), director, MOAA Council and Chapter Af- fairs, will visit chapter members in Arizona. See MOAA Calendar, page 82, for dates.
were helping 26 wounded warriors complete the Cobb County VTC’s 18- month treatment program. Several veteran mentors are members of the Atlanta Chapter, including Col. Charles Davis, USA (Ret), who mentored one of the first veterans who completed the Cobb
“
volunteers who help veterans transition to civilian life.
Our veteran mentors are ... committed
— Atlanta Chapter President Maj. Bill
” Howerton, USAR (Ret)
County VTC’s treatment program, and Maj. Gen. David Bockel, USA (Ret), who has raised more than $12,000 for the VTC’s Bravo Victor Fund, which provides necessities for veterans in treatment. “Our veteran mentors are not law-
yers or therapists,” says Howerton. “They’re committed volunteers who help veterans transition to civilian life.”
Mentoring veterans Four years ago, a judge from the Eaton County, Mich., VTC addressed
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