Page 16 - Harnett Life Winter 2019

The Veterans Treatment Court

By Michaela Williams

The Veterans Treatment Court is a court that focuses sole- internationally by the media for their hard work and dedi-
ly on veterans, specifically veterans who have been in cation to helping our veterans.
trouble due to mental health disorders, trauma, and sub-
stance abuse. The first step veterans take when entering From District 11A they have had 74 veterans graduate
the program is pleading guilty to the crimes they are being and of that 74, 70 veterans have not committed a crime
charged. The veterans who participate in the program must since graduating from the program. This program has a
make regular court appearances, go to treatment sessions, 5% recidivism rate whereas in traditional courts the rate is
and comply with random testing for drug and alcohol use. much higher with over 50% becoming re-offenders. The
They must also go through the five different phases of the court has even found employment for 70% of veterans
court in order to complete the program and graduate. who have requested assistance. Treatment courts are not
only more effective, they save money, since being estab-
The purpose of this court is to get veterans the treatment lish in November of 2013, District 11A has saved more
they need so they can become a working member of soci- than 8,500,000 dollars.
ety. The court is holistic which means they focus on find-
ing healthier and sustainable solutions to legal problems, Mark Teachey the Program Director, who is a veteran
it aims to help not to punish. himself, said “This is a life changing court, it’s not a cook-
ie cutter court. Every veteran is different, and you must
The District 11A Court in Lillington, was the first Veterans address every veteran differently. We are patient and we
Treatment Court in the state of North Carolina. This court really work with them to get past their issues.”
was established on November 6th in 2013 and are coming
up on their 6th anniversary this year. It has a 60-mile ra- The veterans in the program are assigned a mentor who
dius and covers 13 counties in central North Carolina and is also a veteran, this gives them someone to talk to and
has even accepted a few veterans from outside that radius. help them with what they are facing. These mentors are
This branch has been recognized locally, nationally, and unpaid and volunteer their time to help give them guid-
Page 16 Harnett Life ~ Winter 2019