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drinkanddrugsnews
| October 2012
Cover story |
Mental health
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
I
n 2011 I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a Winston Churchill
Memorial Trust travelling fellowship, which enabled me to travel to the USA
for a six-week period to study services available to ex-service personnel
who had slipped through the welfare safety net. I wanted to learn from the
veteran-centric support services that developed following the Vietnam War,
when the experience of veterans brought post-traumatic stress to the attention of
the medical community and the nation. The medical fraternity initially had trouble
understanding the psychological difficulties that veterans faced when they
returned to the civilian community, however, and as a result many failed to engage
with mainstream health services, dropping out of the system and experiencing
chronic social exclusion as a result. To this day Vietnam veterans continue to
number among America’s destitute and homeless.
I visited veteran-orientated organisations in 14 states, as I wanted to learn how
the services engaged with, and supported, veterans living chaotic lives. One of the
most interesting projects I visited, and a scheme that could be easily replicated in
the UK, was the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court, a specialist hybrid drug and
mental health court that diverts veterans struggling with addiction and/or mental
illness from the traditional criminal justice system.
The court is a collaborative effort between veterans’ agencies, the police and
the criminal court, pre-trial, outreach and treatment sectors. Veterans voluntarily
participate in a judicially supervised treatment plan developed by a team of court
staff, healthcare and mental health professionals and peer mentors, with the full
involvement of the individual.
My experience of the court was like nothing I’d seen in 29 years as a social
worker or probation officer. I was impressed by the professionalism and the way
all agencies, from the voluntary to the statutory, worked together to meet the
needs of veterans. Judge Robert T. Russell, the presiding judge, welcomed me to
his court and allowed me to observe proceedings.
A veteran was escorted in, handcuffed, by an armed court official. He looked like
any other problematic drug user after a night in the cells – on the verge of ‘a rattle’, as
we say in the UK. He stood in front of the bench and bowed his head as he answered
the judge’s questions about his addiction to drugs, his offending and service history,
accepting that he needed help as his life had spiralled out of control after several
combat tours in Vietnam. His elderly mother was called to the bench and said he had
gone into self-destruct mode since his return to the civilian community 30 years ago.
With the aid of the veteran’s military records it was confirmed that he had taken
part in several offensives during the Vietnam conflict. As if to emphasise the long-
term damage this man had experienced, he physically flinched at the flash from a
recently appointed court photographer’s camera. There was a murmur of
disapproval from the courtroom – I later found out that the room was filled entirely
with veterans and their families. Judge Russell politely pointed out that it was not
court etiquette to use flash photography and personally apologised to the veteran.
He asked if the veteran had ever accessed medical help in relation to post-
traumatic stress and he said he had not. He then quietly and respectfully
questioned the man for a few more minutes, asking if he would accept the support
of the court. When he said he would, the judge instructed the court guard to
remove the handcuffs. As the veteran rubbed his wrists the judge addressed the
courtroom: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to this man. He
served in the Vietnam War, I have confirmed his status as a veteran and his
service history. He is here today for the first time. He has agreed to accept our
help and support. Please give him a warm Buffalo Veterans Court welcome.’
The courtroom erupted into applause, with both staff and visitors cheering their
A
VETERAN
performance
Tony Wright
visits an inspiring US initiative to divert military veterans with substance
issues away from the criminal justice system, and contrasts the lack of support here