Page 17 - Harnett Life Winter 2019

ance. Gordon Harrington, who is a Vietnam veteran and
serves as the mentor coordinator, understands what many
of these veterans are going through because he suffered
from PTSD himself, like many of the other veterans who
come into this program. “This court is unique because of
the mentor program; no other courts have this kind of pro-
gram” said Mr. Harrington.

Throughout the week, the clinical resource coordinator
and case manager work with the veterans one on one to
see what their needs are ranging from treatment to phys-
ical needs. These two employees, along with other mem-
bers of the staff, work hard to ensure needs of the veterans
are met and play a huge role in recruiting new veterans
into the program and introducing them to the rest of the
staff.

Genevieve Winder Weedle, the case manager and fellow
veteran, said, “Our court survives on the generosity and
understanding of others and it is with that generosity and discuss the status of the veterans in the court. Once this
understand that we are able to make large impacts to the portion of the day is complete, everyone heads to court and
community.” meets with the veterans and they talk to the judge about
how they feel they are doing. The veterans are rewarded
Erin Sperico, the clinical resource coordinator, said, “I am for their good behavior.
honored to be serving in this way, by doing a scope of what
I love but also doing more than just traditional therapy.” Most of the staff of the Veterans Court are prior service
members or have a family member who has served. These
There is a total of three defense attorneys who work on staff members have a better understanding of what some
each case of the veterans. Their jobs are to give the vet- of these Veterans are going through because of their prior
erans legal advice, to advocate for their best interests and experience. The staff is full of great hard-working people
work with the treatment team to achieve the end goal of who want to keep these veterans out of these toxic situa-
rehabilitating the Veterans. tions and show them a different path they can take in their
lives. This is what separates the Veterans Court from any
Brad Salmon, one of the defense attorneys, said, “Our other court, it is more inclusive and focused on rehabilita-
court does not use a one size fits all model. Each veter- tion rather than punishment.
an has different needs and we all work together to treat
the entire person. This type of court is a model for what Robert Johnson, a regional manager with the North Caro-
I believe our traditional courts should seek to evolve to- lina Department of Military and Veteran affairs, paid the
wards.” court a visit and had this to say, “I must say that as a vet-
eran myself of 26 years in the United States Army. I must
The judge in the Veterans Treatment Court also is much say that this court here is a magnificent program and needs
more involved in the veteran’s life than the judge in a tra- to be video nationalized throughout our 50 states.”
ditional court. They have a better understanding of what
issues these veterans may be struggling with so instead of The court has veterans graduating from the program on
trying to punish the veteran, they want to treat them. November 6th, 2019 and have successfully completed the
program and overcame the difficult obstacles they were
Chief District Court Judge Jacquelyn Lee has been with facing. What court means to a graduating veteran, “Keep-
the Veterans Treatment Court for 4 years. “The court ing free those who kept us free, the motto has more mean-
makes a difference in the life of a veteran and they deserve ing then what is really says. It helped me stay on the right
that. I have a firm belief that we owe it to these veterans to track mentally, physically, financially and emotionally
help them get on the right boat” said Judge Lee. keeping myself accountable and striving to do better set-
ting small goals to reach by the time I had to present was a
Every Wednesday all the staff members come together to great challenge and it benefits everyone.”
Harnett Life ~ Winter 2019 Page 17