Veterans Treatment Court in need of volunteer mentors
Program provides support among former service members
Nez Perce County’s Veterans Treatment Court is looking for a few former service members to mentor its participants on their road to recovery.
The state’s 2nd Judicial District established the court in 2013 to provide a path toward rehabilitation for military veterans whose run-ins with the law are related to substance abuse or mental health issues. Having a fellow veteran to lean on through that process is a crucial component to success, said volunteer coordinator Pat Carey.
“We’re just basically friends to help a veteran through,” said Carey, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1969-72. “We’re another brother in arms.”
According to Specialty Courts Administrator Lisa Martin, the program has admitted 67 veterans since it was founded, with about three-quarters reaching graduation. It currently has 12 participants, but only five mentors in the five counties that comprise District 2. No mentors have been added since the pandemic began in 2020.
Those who are interested in becoming volunteers in the Veteran Mentor Group need to be honorably discharged military veterans with no felony record and the ability to pass a background check. Other than that, they just need to offer a little time and a sympathetic ear to their fellow vets who are struggling through the legal system.
And Carey said it may sound trite, but the mentors often get more out of the interactions than their mentees.
“It’s a connection back with your brothers in arms,” Carey said. “They don’t all have to have been combat veterans in order to connect. They’re all brothers in arms. Everybody raised their hand, everybody took a chance, and that’s what binds us together. And that is key to that relationship and building trust so the veteran knows that he is at ease to share whatever pebble is in his shoe.”
David Casey graduated from Veterans Treatment Court in 2017 with Carey as his mentor. The two became close friends through the experience, and now Casey serves as a mentor himself. He agreed that the mentoring program was one of the reasons he completed the treatment program, and one of the reasons he’s kept his nose clean ever since.
“It really gave me a renewed sense of the camaraderie that the veterans have,” said Casey, a 65-year-old Army vet who served from 1973-75, including time in West Germany. “It changed my life so much that I really felt that it was important for me to give that back to the new veterans coming in. So many veterans are disconnected from their service and their service buddies after a little bit of civilian life, and it’s one thing to remember that we’re all brothers in arms and we help each other. No man left behind.”
Carey said he asks for mentors to meet with their mentees once per week, preferably face-to-face when possible. Hour-long court hearings with the participants take place twice per month, and mentors are expected to attend those as well. Casey said it adds up to about four hours per month, not including times when a veteran might need to reach out to their mentor for extra support.
Those who are interested may call Carey at (951) 675-0095. They will need to fill out an application, after which a felony probation officer will conduct the background check. Once that is done, the prospective mentor will meet with a panel that includes Carey, Martin, someone from the probation office and someone from the treatment court.
“We want to know a little bit about the person, we want to know about their background with which branch of service, when they served, what their (military occupational specialty) was, and just kind of get a feel for them as a person,” Carey said. “That will pay off for us down the road if we have some insight into the personality of the mentor and the personality of the veteran he’s going to be serving. We want to make sure that’s going to be a good personality fit.”
Casey said that in his experience, the mentor can play a major role in helping the veteran feel like the court is there to help them, not just to inflict punishment. And for those who don’t have the qualifications to be a volunteer mentor, Martin said the program also accepts donations to help pay for things like treatment court alumni gatherings. Donated funds have also been used to help pay for things like transportation to Veterans Administration hospitals, rent and job training. Martin may be reached at (208) 790-1748.
Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com
