Veterans' Court

SPECIALTY COURTS WE SERVE

Veterans' Court

Veterans' Treatment Court is a judicially monitored program of treatment and intensive community supervision within the Harris County criminal justice system. It is a pre-trial intervention program for clients arrested in Harris County who are Veterans of the armed forces. Partnering with the Harris County Criminal Justice System (county criminal courts for misdemeanors and district criminal courts for felonies), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, potential clients will undergo assessments and participate in the development of an individualized treatment plan based on their unique needs. Veterans' Treatment Court is a non-adversarial program committed to ensuring clients who are arrested on a felony or misdemeanor charge receive the support and services needed. Veterans can potentially receive pre-trial intervention agreements, which, if completed successfully, could lead to dismissal of the pending criminal charge(s). Veterans can receive no-cost treatment on vocational services, community service reduction, financial assistance with alcohol monitoring devices and rewards/incentives.

PROGRAM NEEDS

  • Gift cards and Incentives
  • METRO cards
  • Emergency and transitional housing
  • Sober social activities

SUCCESS STORIES

Jonathan
When Jonathan entered the Veterans' Treatment Court program in 2017 he was in denial of how serious his substance use problem was, specifically with alcohol. While in our program, he had many violations to include a couple of relapses and two new arrests. He completed 60 days of residential treatment at the Temple VA Domiciliary, three months of residential treatment at a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF), 90 days of SATF aftercare treatment, the Substance Dependence Treatment Program (SDTP) and the Seeking Safety program (both at the Houston VA), in addition to individual therapy for PTSD at the VA. He has now been sober for over a year, and this is the longest that he has ever been sober in his life. He has reconnected with his daughter, maintained employment since his discharge from SATF, and looks forward to maintaining his sobriety through continued AA attendance and follow-up mental health appointments with his VA psychiatrist.
Alejandro
Alejandro served in the United States Marine Corps for over 13 years, including deployments overseas during the Gulf War and the intervention in Somalia. He was accepted into the Harris County Felony Veteran Treatment Court in Nov 2018 after being charged with assault of a family member. While in the program Alejandro completed VA treatment classes Strength at Home (a program to address Intimate Partner Violence) and STAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Relation Therapy). Alejandro now enjoys long-distance cycling and is getting ready to complete the MS-150, a bike ride between Houston and Austin to help raise money for muscular dystrophy. He graduated from the program in March 2020 and is extremely grateful for the opportunity he has been given with the Felony Veteran Treatment Court. He feels that without this program he would not have received the assistance he needed to better himself and his daughters.
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