Veterans' treatment courts have been gaining traction nationwide—and a recent proposal may bring one to the Durham community.
The proposal would bring a treatment court to Durham, the third of its kind in North Carolina. Although state lawmakers have cut funding for drug treatment courts, legal aid and family courts in the years following the recession, there is recent momentum for special services for veterans, Durham Chief District Court Judge Marcia Morey said.
“Veterans' courts seem to be one area in the court system leaders are finding funds for,” she said.
Treatment courts are designed to help veterans charged with misdemeanors and non-violent felonies find services to help them return to civilian life. The court in Durham would offer support and treatment for veterans suffering from mental illness and drug abuse, and would receive federal funding through a special grant from the Governor’s Crime commission.
“[Legislators] want to give special classification of the population special treatment when we’re slashing court funding in other areas,” Morey said.
The model for the Durham proposal is part of a national trend of veterans treatment courts, the first of which opened in Buffalo, N.Y., according to the National Center for State Courts. There are two veterans' treatment courts in North Carolina, in Harnett and Cumberland counties. Services for veterans are a prominent theme in North Carolina—especially in Durham, which is home to over 15,000 veterans, according to 2013 census.
Desiree Sang—project coordinator of the Veterans' Treatment Court in Anchorage, Ala., which was modeled after the Buffalo program—said that she has seen firsthand the benefits of a mentor-mentee system within the treatment court. In addition to the mentorship program, Sang credited employees with the successes of the Anchorage court, and said that the future Durham court could benefit from the same leadership.
“One of the things we definitely would advise is having a dedicated case manager, parole officer, and you need community outreach.” Sang said.
Sang said that while she has seen improvements among participants in the program there have also been significant challenges along the way.
“[Some challenges] included starting the new mentorship program," Sang said. "We started with the roadmap Buffalo has in place but it’s been hard getting people to [continue] mentoring.”
The Harnett and Cumberland county treatment courts also have mentoring programs where veterans are placed with mentors who also served in the military to act as a resource for support as they complete their treatment process.
Court officials have been meeting about the Durham proposal for over a year. Overall, Morey expressed enthusiasm for the proposal, although she emphasizes that state government must weigh it against alternatives when funding is limited.
“I’m very supportive of the veterans' court but I’m also interested in mental health and drug treatment court.” Morey said.
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