.Fisher: Courts learn lessons from Vietnam
For Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley, seeing a steady stream of Gulf War veterans and more from Iraq and Afghanistan in his courtroom is eerily familiar.
"It's Vietnam all over again," he said.
Since 1995, Manley has created special courts in Santa Clara County for defendants suffering from substance abuse problems or mental illness, offering them treatment instead of prison. It didn't take him long to notice that many of the defendants were Vietnam-era veterans who struggled with physical and mental conditions related to their war experiences and had been in and out of jail.
"I was frustrated for many years," he recalled. "I've had veterans who are in their 50s and 60s and still homeless and still don't have appropriate treatment because the courts and the Veterans Administration just didn't work together."
Now he is seeing a new crop of veterans in his San Jose courtroom. More than 2 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. One-third of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression or other mental illness. At least a fifth struggle with drug or alcohol dependency.
"We know a lot of these vets will commit crimes," Manley said. "What we have learned over the years is that we never provided the appropriate treatment for Vietnam vets who came into the system, and many of them are still with us."
Not wanting to see another generation of veterans locked up or homeless, Manley was one of the first judges in the country to work with the VA to create a veterans treatment court. And he is pushing the Legislature to pass a bill that would make it easier to replicate his model across the state.
A court for veterans
Since November, Manley has held regular court calendars just for veterans charged with drug offenses, domestic violence, battery and other crimes. The court provides treatment, rehabilitation and supervision, allowing vets who stick with the program to avoid incarceration.
Manley works with the VA to create a treatment plan. In court, VA representatives are there to streamline the process of getting the vets medical and psychological care. VA counselors visit the vets in jail, and peer mentors who have dealt with similar problems offer support.
A sense of trust
"Veterans have a real allegiance and dedication to one another," said Joel Rosenthal, regional coordinator for re-entry and justice services for the VA. "They have a sense of trust with one another that they might not have with others. So having the peer mentor is an affirming thing; it helps to get them into recovery."
In a recent court session, Manley was delighted to see a Vietnam vet who had stubbornly refused treatment for years suddenly getting with the program.
"The VA reached out to him," the judge said. "Someone cared enough to talk to him. Motivation is everything to these people because they have lost hope."
AB 1925, by Assemblywoman Mary Salas from the San Diego area, would promote the development of other veterans courts and assure that they operate consistently across the state. While startup costs might cause counties to hold off until the economy improves, in the long-run, the courts save money by keeping vets out of prison and off the streets.
Most important, these courts will save the lives of veterans who put their lives on the line for us.
MercuryNews
"It's Vietnam all over again," he said.
Since 1995, Manley has created special courts in Santa Clara County for defendants suffering from substance abuse problems or mental illness, offering them treatment instead of prison. It didn't take him long to notice that many of the defendants were Vietnam-era veterans who struggled with physical and mental conditions related to their war experiences and had been in and out of jail.
"I was frustrated for many years," he recalled. "I've had veterans who are in their 50s and 60s and still homeless and still don't have appropriate treatment because the courts and the Veterans Administration just didn't work together."
Now he is seeing a new crop of veterans in his San Jose courtroom. More than 2 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. One-third of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression or other mental illness. At least a fifth struggle with drug or alcohol dependency.
"We know a lot of these vets will commit crimes," Manley said. "What we have learned over the years is that we never provided the appropriate treatment for Vietnam vets who came into the system, and many of them are still with us."
Not wanting to see another generation of veterans locked up or homeless, Manley was one of the first judges in the country to work with the VA to create a veterans treatment court. And he is pushing the Legislature to pass a bill that would make it easier to replicate his model across the state.
A court for veterans
Since November, Manley has held regular court calendars just for veterans charged with drug offenses, domestic violence, battery and other crimes. The court provides treatment, rehabilitation and supervision, allowing vets who stick with the program to avoid incarceration.
Manley works with the VA to create a treatment plan. In court, VA representatives are there to streamline the process of getting the vets medical and psychological care. VA counselors visit the vets in jail, and peer mentors who have dealt with similar problems offer support.
A sense of trust
"Veterans have a real allegiance and dedication to one another," said Joel Rosenthal, regional coordinator for re-entry and justice services for the VA. "They have a sense of trust with one another that they might not have with others. So having the peer mentor is an affirming thing; it helps to get them into recovery."
In a recent court session, Manley was delighted to see a Vietnam vet who had stubbornly refused treatment for years suddenly getting with the program.
"The VA reached out to him," the judge said. "Someone cared enough to talk to him. Motivation is everything to these people because they have lost hope."
AB 1925, by Assemblywoman Mary Salas from the San Diego area, would promote the development of other veterans courts and assure that they operate consistently across the state. While startup costs might cause counties to hold off until the economy improves, in the long-run, the courts save money by keeping vets out of prison and off the streets.
Most important, these courts will save the lives of veterans who put their lives on the line for us.
MercuryNews
posted by madtom at 11:59 PM
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