Veterans and legal experts discuss wrap-around services to address the needs of veterans with substance use disorder on an episode of Legal Services Corporation’s “Talk Justice” podcast. LSC Vice President for Legal Affairs and retired Air Force colonel Will Gunn hosts the conversation with Assistant United States Attorney for Rhode Island, Amy Romero; Managing Attorney for Colorado Legal Services’ Pueblo office, Bob Keating; Judge Taryn Heath of Ohio’s Stark County Court of Common Pleas; and former Under Secretary of the U.S. Army and Co-Founder of WorkMerk Patrick Murphy.
Many veterans live with mental or behavioral health challenges, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder. Approximately 1 in 10 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from some form of substance abuse. And according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the rate of opioid use disorder among veterans is almost double that of the general population.
Civil legal aid, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Veterans Courts provide vital assistance for veterans facing a substance use disorder, from obtaining health care benefits to securing treatment. This panel discussion originally took place at LSC’s November 19 event, “Honor in Justice: Supporting America’s Veterans.”
Judge Heath’s Honor Court was established as the first Treatment Court in the state of Ohio for veterans charged with felonies.
“The reason I named it Honor Court is I’m really stressing destigmatization,” said Heath. “Our mission statement is reclaiming honor, dignity and lives, and we really focus on helping as many people as we can. We save taxpayers money while also rehabilitating and providing our participants with a new foundation for the rest of their life, Connecting people with services is lifesaving.”
Keating said Colorado Legal Services handled 500 cases for veterans last year; many had struggled with substance issues or other medical issues like dementia.
“One in five of our [Iraq or Afghanistan veterans], will suffer the two signature injuries of our wars: PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, or TBI, traumatic brain injury,” said Murphy. “So, [we need] to make sure that if they fall through the cracks, if they go down the wrong path, that it’s not just prosecuting and put them in jail—that’s how it was in the past.”
More than 20% of veterans suffering from PTSD also suffer from some sort of substance use disorder.
Romero explained a key to her work as a member of the Department of Justice’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Substance use disorder and opioid use disorder are disabilities under the ADA,” said Romero. “There are three life-saving medications approved by the FDA: methadone, buprenorphine [and naltrexone], but the problem is, people who are prescribed this medication often face barriers due to stigma around the medications.”
Romero and her colleagues have seen prisons and sober housing refuse to allow inmates to have access to their medication, as well as primary care doctors who refuse to see patients who are taking these medications, or employers who refuse to hire someone if a drug test shows evidence of one of these medications. In one case, a veteran had come to the VA hospital for a medical issue, and afterward needed to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility. The facility originally said they had room, but after they found out the veteran was on suboxone, they denied him. His doctor filed a complaint with DOJ that made it to Romero, and she was able to reach a settlement with the medical facility—and all the other locations they owned—to change this discriminatory policy.
“Don’t give up,” Heath said, “As long as somebody wants sobriety, wants mental health, and is willing to continue to work at it, even though they may slip or fall, don’t give up on them and give them hope and they will succeed.”
Talk Justice episodes are available online and on Spotify, YouTube, Apple and other popular podcast apps.
The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s Leaders Council.
Many veterans live with mental or behavioral health challenges, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder. Approximately 1 in 10 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from some form of substance abuse. And according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the rate of opioid use disorder among veterans is almost double that of the general population.
Civil legal aid, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Veterans Courts provide vital assistance for veterans facing a substance use disorder, from obtaining health care benefits to securing treatment. This panel discussion originally took place at LSC’s November 19 event, “Honor in Justice: Supporting America’s Veterans.”
Judge Heath’s Honor Court was established as the first Treatment Court in the state of Ohio for veterans charged with felonies.
“The reason I named it Honor Court is I’m really stressing destigmatization,” said Heath. “Our mission statement is reclaiming honor, dignity and lives, and we really focus on helping as many people as we can. We save taxpayers money while also rehabilitating and providing our participants with a new foundation for the rest of their life, Connecting people with services is lifesaving.”
Keating said Colorado Legal Services handled 500 cases for veterans last year; many had struggled with substance issues or other medical issues like dementia.
“One in five of our [Iraq or Afghanistan veterans], will suffer the two signature injuries of our wars: PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, or TBI, traumatic brain injury,” said Murphy. “So, [we need] to make sure that if they fall through the cracks, if they go down the wrong path, that it’s not just prosecuting and put them in jail—that’s how it was in the past.”
More than 20% of veterans suffering from PTSD also suffer from some sort of substance use disorder.
Romero explained a key to her work as a member of the Department of Justice’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Substance use disorder and opioid use disorder are disabilities under the ADA,” said Romero. “There are three life-saving medications approved by the FDA: methadone, buprenorphine [and naltrexone], but the problem is, people who are prescribed this medication often face barriers due to stigma around the medications.”
Romero and her colleagues have seen prisons and sober housing refuse to allow inmates to have access to their medication, as well as primary care doctors who refuse to see patients who are taking these medications, or employers who refuse to hire someone if a drug test shows evidence of one of these medications. In one case, a veteran had come to the VA hospital for a medical issue, and afterward needed to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility. The facility originally said they had room, but after they found out the veteran was on suboxone, they denied him. His doctor filed a complaint with DOJ that made it to Romero, and she was able to reach a settlement with the medical facility—and all the other locations they owned—to change this discriminatory policy.
“Don’t give up,” Heath said, “As long as somebody wants sobriety, wants mental health, and is willing to continue to work at it, even though they may slip or fall, don’t give up on them and give them hope and they will succeed.”
Talk Justice episodes are available online and on Spotify, YouTube, Apple and other popular podcast apps.
The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s Leaders Council.
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