Judge Jim Blanchard spoke about the Drug Court launched in Richmond County last year, and the program's successes. I was invited to observe this Drug Court a week ago, and I was very impressed with the enthusiasm for sobriety on the part of the participants and the impact treatment options have on those who would otherwise be in the throes of their addictions, or in jail, or worse, dead. This treatment court model is of great interest to our project, as we look at the potential to launch a Veterans Court similar to the program in Buffalo, NY and a few other locations across the country. The idea is to connect veterans who end up in front of a judge with the programs, services and benefits they have already earned through their service. The focus of the court in New York state is treatment, and a team approach to challenges facing veterans.
We are fortunate to have a wonderful VA Medical Center in Augusta (the Charlie Norwood VAMC) and program managers and leadership there interested in exploring how to implement the treatment model court for veterans in our area.
March 27th, the Charlie Norwood VAMC will host the Buffalo judge who started the Veterans Court there, for an all day session to discuss how the program works. The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project is hosting a meeting on this day to bring judicial and law enforcement leadership together with our VAMC staff and the Buffalo judge to explore implementing this here. This small work group will look at the needs of this generation of returning service members' needs, and veterans and their families needs in transition, and ways to meet those needs in collaboration with the Charlie Norwood VAMC.
From the response today from the Augusta Bar Association, it appears our community is ready to collaborate on this type of initiative, and ensure our veterans get the care they need, when they need it.
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