HOLYOKE — The conversations between Judge Laurie MacLeod and the men and women in the Western Massachusetts Veterans Treatment Court could be had just as easily over coffee as in the courtroom.
MacLeod asks the veterans about their week, weeks or month since they last met. Did they keep up on their exercise? How are their medical treatments faring?
Those conversations are done in an effort to better serve veterans with serious substance use and/or mental health issues that may have led them to commit crimes, the judge says.
“Veterans have raised their hands and have said they would give their lives to our country,” MacLeod said. “What the people who talked about planning a veterans treatment court was, let’s give them the support they need. Let’s re-engage them, let’s help build them back up rather than just to treat their symptoms or treat their crime or punish their crime.
“Instead of all that, build them back up to the successful people they were before,” she said.
Across the state, five Veterans’ Treatment Courts exist. The one in Holyoke District Court serves Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties and has been operational since November 2015.
“The need is there if there are veterans that are committing crimes and being convicted of crimes,” MacLeod said. “A lot of the reason they are committing and being convicted is that they are not receiving treatment and services.”
In June, four veterans were part of the court’s first graduating class. On Wednesday, two more veterans completed the program, including former Navy man Gary Dale Green. Now 59, Green joined the Navy at 25 and did three nine-month cruises in the Mediterranean on the USS Richmond Kelly Turner, a guided missile cruiser.
Green joined the program 17 months ago in March 2016. The Easthampton man said he was facing a charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and significant jail time when someone mentioned the veterans’ court and he was on it.
“That day, they brought me out of regular court and brought me here,” he said. “Eighteen months, it takes a long time but now that it is all said and done, I feel like I have actually accomplished something and at my age I can actually do something to make a positive notch on my life.”
The accomplishment didn’t come without tremendous effort though. During his time with the court, Green had to report twice a week for drug and alcohol screens — a requirement for all participants.
Although Green described the program as a “pain in the ass,” he said he thanked God for it and would absolutely recommend the treatment court to other veterans.
“It’s been a real positive experience,” he said. “You see people grow here, right before your very eyes. It takes a while to get going. You see people who were right down and out and they raised them up and put them back on their feet.”
As Green received his certificate of completion and challenge coin on Wednesday, the other men and women gathered in the courtroom stood to applaud his work and commitment.
“I’m proud of you,” MacLeod said as she shook Green’s hand.
“I’m proud of me too,” Green responded.
Since its beginning, about a dozen men and women have completed their probation with the court.
“These are people who have serious substance abuse and/or mental health issues,” MacLeod said. “For them to be successful for 18 months — not commit new crimes, learn ways to change their behavior … is huge. The idea that we can stop the recidivism without incarceration and with training and skill development and substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment, that’s wonderful.”
Green may have had a smooth path to graduation but that is not the case for all veterans who go through the specialty court. The court isn’t easy. It demands a lot from the veterans who participate.
In addition to handing the normal stresses of daily life — balancing work and family responsibilities — the veterans also have responsibilities from the court. Depending on where the veterans are in their probation, they may be required to report twice weekly to the Holyoke Court for drug and alcohol testing. They also commit to weekly or biweekly visits with their mentor and attending various therapy programs and groups at the courthouse and elsewhere.
When setbacks happen, the entire court can feel it. Last spring, two veterans in the program died — one from an overdose and the other from a medical issue.
“The overdose was hard. You just feel, we had thought we were doing as much as we could do for the woman who overdosed and we were doing a lot. She was doing so well,” MacLeod said. “We were helping and supporting her and she was in different programs, but she was a heroin addict. Do I feel it? Yeah.”
When a veteran struggles or has hit a bump in their road to recovery, MacLeod offers words of encouragement while keeping a serious tone that conveys the importance of the veteran’s continued hard work.
“We certainly feel it when there are setbacks but we also realize that it’s certainly not about me and it’s not about the program. it’s about the serious issues that this individual is facing,” MacLeod said. “If there is a setback, maybe some new thing has to happen in his or her treatment … that shows us that something more needs to be done not something less.”
While the veterans are ultimately responsible for their own success, they don’t have to go through the program alone. Each veteran is assigned a mentor to assist them throughout the 18 months.
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Mike Lieb has been a mentor with the court since it began in 2015. In that time four of the veterans he has mentored have graduated, including Green.
“The protocol means we can be their friend, their battle buddy, confidant, just somebody to lean on so to speak,” Lieb, of Longmeadow, said. “We just try to respond to the daily needs. As a group, I don’t think we have any profound answers.”
Green, who lived in the veterans’ homeless shelter for a year, said Lieb helped him get furniture.
Not every veteran who takes part in the program wants or feels they need a close relationship with their mentor. Even so, mentors are there whenever they are needed. All mentors are volunteers and most are veterans themselves.
Lieb said the program in some way is similar to military life, but rather than preparing for warfare, they are preparing for a successful civilian life.
“This is another battle,” Lieb said. “It’s a battle for their new life to where they can smile and maybe have kids or maybe get back with their family.”