WMMOA Vets Court Mentors

The Veterans Day Friday social hr. event was an opportunity to learn, meet and thank a number of the WMMOA veterans who make the Missoula Veterans Court a major success. Larry Schauff and Larry Anderson led the introduction of Vet Court Mentors whose shared stories of their successes and challenges in supporting and helping struggling Vets get their lives back on track.   The Missoula Veterans Court was established in 2011, as a program to help the smaller number of returning Vets who have serious reintegration issues, and end up committing a criminal offense, usually associated with substance use. It is this group for whom the court program was established, vets whose involvement in the criminal justice system appears connected to readjustment difficulties. Veterans who successfully complete the program may achieve a more favorable criminal justice outcome, e.g., diversion, sentence reduction, deferral or suspension.  The Mentors act as “trusted friends”, while their mentee is going through the program. Mentors meet weekly with the participant, and A relationship develops between the Mentor and the mentee that greatly helps the participant address the challenges of complying with the requirements of the Court Most Veterans complete the program in 15 to 18 months. It was an informative and moving presentation and will likely glean several new volunteers from the WMMOA membership.  Bravo Zulu Vet Court Mentors!