From Right on Crime:
When I joined Right on Crime as the organization’s Florida State Director, the first thing I mentioned to my team was my passion to explore meaningful ways to improve the lives of incarcerated veterans. As a veteran and a long-time advocate for veterans’ issues in various capacities, I have consistently focused my efforts on ensuring that those who have served our country should not be forgotten, even behind bars.
Florida boasts one of the largest veteran populations in the nation with around 1.4M veterans. Each year, thousands of veterans will transition from service and go into our communities. For some, this transition is easy, but for others it presents a more difficult challenge. These challenges are often exasperated by their time in service from Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, chronic pain, and strained relationships from multiple deployments which can lead to a criminal record and incarceration.
There has been tremendous work to connect our veterans who have had law enforcement encounters through Veteran Treatment Courts created by the T. Patt Maney Veterans’ Treatment Act. In fact, Florida currently has 33 Veteran Treatment Courts statewide with the latest court opening on September 11th, 2024, in Santa Rosa County. These problem-solving courts are dedicated to connecting veterans with the services they need through United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and community partners to provide them with a path forward. Continue reading >>>
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