The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, recently released its third annual report assessing LGBT equality in 353 cities across the nation, including six in Ohio.
The group’s Municipal Equality Index rates cities on LGBT inclusion in municipal law and policy. The average score for cities in Ohio was 83 out of 100 points, which is above the national average of 59. Toledo, with 58, is the only Ohio city to fall below that average. Other Ohio cities rated include Akron (68), Cincinnati (100), Cleveland (79), Columbus (100) and Dayton (95). For more information, visit hrc.org/mei.
Every year on Veterans Day, Americans celebrate and honor veterans. But there is another group of people who have also served our country but are not typically recognized — the military “brats,” or children of service members.
This is what was going through the mind of retired Air Force pilot Robert Holliker of Whitehouse when he first read Pat Conroy’s introduction to Mary Edwards Wertsch’s book, “Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress” in the mid-1990s.
Holliker grew up as an Air Force brat from 1950-64. During that time, his family moved 12 times and Holliker attended 11 schools. He studied at four different high schools in three countries, graduating in West Germany in 1964.
After high school, Holliker returned to Whitehouse and attended Bowling Green State University. In 1968 he went on active duty himself and served 20 years in the Air Force.
In December 2009, Holliker approached Rep. Bob Latta and the two began working together to create legislation to honor military brats.
As House resolutions to create Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pins languished “in committee,” someone asked Holliker why he couldn’t just create a pin himself. So in July 2013 he started Brat Pin.
After soliciting ideas from other brats, he settled on the dandelion — the official flower of the military child — and a dog tag chain as a border.
“The dog tag chain is symbolic in that any kid who is a brat will recognize it immediately,” he said. In addition, it symbolizes the security of the fence that encompassed the bases and posts we grew up on — giving us security and freedom that a lot of other kids don’t have. We had the run of the base to play on when I was a kid — it was magic!”
The Brat Pin is available at www.bratpin.com, along with other items such as pendants, decals, magnets, dog tags and coins.
“I never went into this venture to make money myself. I went into it to recognize and honor military brats,” Holliker said. “Once I recover my investment, I will hand it all over to the Museum of The American Military Family out in New Mexico.
“I hope to create an awareness in our country for the sacrifices and service of our military kids to our nation. They do it year after year without fanfare,” he said. “I wanted something easily recognized by brats that says, ‘We served too.’”
After launching Brat pin, Holliker came up with a spinoff idea called Cards for Vets, (www.cardsforvets.com), which offers customized trading cards and posters that feature veterans and detail their service.
“One of the things we brats grow up with is a sense of not belonging anywhere,” he said. “I thought if trading cards were created, kids could collect and trade, bonds could be formed even tighter.
“I see these cards being used at memorial services, going-away events, retirements, reunions and so forth. Can you imagine the impact of a kid approaching Grandpa or Grandma and asking him or her to sign his card? And then the realization of the vet when they see that they are on the card? The sheer delight of a vet, thinking that his or her service meant something to that kid?”
Two days after I, Nolan, graduated from high school, I jumped on a bus with my buddy Pete and we went down to Parris Island, South Carolina and joined the United States Marine Corps. I often tell people I thought it would be a nice, tropical vacation after high school. In reality, I wanted the experience and knew I needed the discipline. My time in the Marines taught me a lot. Mark also spent a great deal of his life on military bases as the son of a preacher. That is in part why helping veterans has always been an important mission at our company.
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A great organization that supports active duty military overseas is www.adoptaplatoon.org. Thanks to support from our clients, friends and staffs, our office has shipped nearly 2,000 pounds of items overseas. Local residents can also help out and donate items that will be shipped out to troops overseas for the holidays by stopping by our office and donating an item. Our company will not only donate as well, we will pay 100 percent of the shipping cost to send the items overseas to an active duty military person.
Scouts are also making a difference. Both of my sons are active in Boy Scouts of America, Pack and Troop 101 in Waterville. The Scouts will be accepting worn or faded flags on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at Waterville United Methodist Church from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. located at 102 N. Fifth St., Waterville with a special flag ceremony at 7 p.m., weather permitting. Anyone with a flag that needs to be properly retired, please bring it by. Pack 101 in Waterville will also be hosting its annual Toys for Tots drive with all donations going to the local Marine Reserve location in Perrysburg. Please drop off a new and unwrapped toy before Nov. 14 to our office and a scout will personally deliver the item to Toys for Tots.
Take a moment and thank an active duty and military veterans. Current veterans are suffering from years of stress. One example is my brother, Chris. He joined The United States Air Force and was stationed at The Pentagon one month before Sept. 11. A hero on that day, he went in and helped save lives, but years later took his own life. Canada just announced it would do more to help its veterans after it was announced that more of their veterans have died as a result of suicide than in combat over the past decade. Our Congress just approved a $16.3 spending bill to help with the long wait times at healthcare facilities through the Department of Veteran Affairs. But sometimes the best medicine is just a handshake or a “thank you.”
More returning veterans than normal civilians are concerned about their financial future. Fifty-five percent of veterans feel they are not prepared for a financial emergency, according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and Pioneer Services. Some are behind on debt and a lot of the homeless are veterans. Some veterans are in great shape, but you can help others by volunteering or donating to our local homeless shelters and food banks. They need to find civilian jobs, they need to understand their benefits, and they need a plan.
Great organizations like the National Association of American Veterans and U.S. Soldiers Foundation are helping, but together we can do more in our community. If you are a veteran, a spouse of a deceased veteran, or an active duty military person, it would be an honor to serve you. If you or a loved one needs financial guidance, a written plan, or need a review and explanation of benefits, we will provide a complimentary review and written recommendations. Simply contact our office at 419-842-0550 and set up an appointment.
I challenge you to get involved this week. Support www.adoptaplatoon.org, either online or by dropping off an item to our office. They love everything from magazines to snack packs. Stop by the Waterville United Methodist Church and bring in a worn-out flag and the Boy Scouts of America will retire it. Look around on Veterans Day this Nov. 11 and simply thank a veteran or a person who is active duty in military. Or take a few minutes and donate to one of our local food banks or homeless shelters. All of these are easy ways to get involved. We want to say “thank you” to all veterans for all you do and have done for all of us. We appreciate you.
For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC. NEXT Financial Group, Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice. The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537. www.retirementguysnetwork.com 419-842-0550
Navigating the bureaucracy of veterans services is notoriously complicated, but thanks to a pilot program called Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL), it’s a one-stop shop for student veterans at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University to access their benefits.
Brittany Powers is a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) social worker who has been managing the VITAL program for the Ann Arbor regional office since its inception in 2011. She manages the program for seven schools, including UT and BGSU. In the past year she has helped connect over 125 students to VA health benefits via the VITAL program.
VA social worker Brittany Powers works with veteran Doug Deprest at Bowling Green State University. Photo courtesy Bowling Green State University.
Instead of the time-consuming process of seeking out each benefit individually, the VITAL program brings together the full spectrum of VA services into a single access point on campus.
“Most student veterans are there on the GI Bill, but we find that a lot of veterans aren’t as active in seeking out health care,” Powers said. “We want to meet student vets where they’re at.”
Corey Carter is a sophomore in economics at UT and a veteran. He was connected to Powers and the VITAL program through the university’s veterans affairs office and he is now enrolled in VA benefits programs.
“Before I met Brittany, I probably had a list a mile long of frustrations with the VA,” Carter said. “There’s a lot of organizations that want to help veterans, but each only handles little pieces of the pie. The VITAL program really helped me out. It took less than an hour, and doing it on my own could have taken weeks.”
Doug Deprest is a Navy veteran and a senior in sports management at BGSU. He met Powers on a veterans night at a Falcon football game. He took advantage of remote mental health care via Skype, a VITAL program at BGSU that is unique in the area.
“I came out of the Navy and started school right away,” Deprest said. “On the initial meeting they evaluate whether you have post-traumatic stress disorder, and I didn’t have that, but I know there were some other things going on.”
Through the VITAL program, Deprest is able to access the counseling and therapy he needs over Skype on BGSU’s campus.
Derek Atkinson, a public affairs officer for the VA in Ann Arbor, said the VITAL program is part of a shift in focus at the VA.
“It really highlights what VA is doing to sort of step outside of the box,” Atkinson said. “They were a federal island — now they’re out in the community really doing things.”
Powers said the program has been working well, but hopes it will expand.
“Right now the program is just me,” she said. “I would really like to cover every college campus within our area, and I’d like to cover every university equally. To do that, we would need more staff. For right now we’re just in the beginning stages of showing that the program works.”
Students interested in learning more about VITAL can contact Powers at (734) 548-3452 or [email protected]. She is available by appointment at UT and has regular Tuesday office hours at BGSU’s office of Nontraditional and Transfer Student Services.
Melissa Etheridge is rocking on with a little help from new friends.
Melissa Ethridge, photo by John Tsiavis
Released Sept. 30, “This Is M.E.” is the first disc on her label, ME Records.
Rather than rely on a more familiar way of recording, the veteran singer-songwriter decided to shake things up for this collection.
“Instead of writing all the songs and then taking them to different producers, I went to different producers and created songs with each of them,” she said. “So you get this great yummy center, which is always me — you can hear my guitars, you can hear my voice, my lyrics — yet around them is the jet fuel of other artists, like Jon Levine or Jerry ‘Wonda’ [Duplessis], and all of a sudden you can hear these beats and these rhythms that I’ve always wanted.”
In addition to Levine, who has worked with Nelly Furtado, K’Naan and Selena Gomez, and Wonda, who has produced The Fugees, Mary J. Blige and Akon, Etheridge joined forces with Jerrod Bettis, known for collaborating with Adele, OneRepublic and Gavin DeGraw, and Roccstar, who has teamed up with Usher and Chris Brown.
The result: rock, R&B, country, hip-hop — and a hell of a lot of fun.
“It was just a real thrill to work with everyone,” Etheridge said during a call from her California home.
She even did a little recruiting while in the studio.
“[Wonda] is in my band this tour; that’s so exciting. I talked him into coming out on the road with me, so he’s playing bass. His musicians are backing me up; I’ve got my drummer and then his keyboard player, his guitar player. I’ve got two background singers for the first time,” she said.
“It’s so much fun, just really dipping into that R&B side of rock ’n roll. I just feel a little bit more like Joe Cocker than Led Zeppelin this time out.”
Co-written with Bettis, her latest single, “Take My Number,” is classic Etheridge, complete with a catchy chorus sung by that powerful, passionate voice.
“Who Are You Waiting For” is the one track on the disc the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning artist penned herself.
She wrote it for her wife, Linda Wallem.
“Usually I just sit down and say, ‘OK, what am I going through?’ And that the relationship pretty much saved my life really was on the forefront of my mind,” Etheridge said. “When I sat down to write the last verse, I realized, ‘Oh, these are vows, these are wedding vows.’ And then I thought, ‘I’m going to sing this to her at the wedding.’
“And I sang my vows, which was just a really special moment. It’s really something powerful standing three feet in front of someone and singing right to them.”
Etheridge will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor Nov. 16. Tickets range from $39.50 to $99.50.
“I’m so grateful for everyone who buys tickets and comes to see me. The people are excited before I’ve even played a note,” she said. “Once the show gets going and the audience knows the songs when you’re playing, you know, I start ‘Come to My Window’ and everyone’s on their feet, it’s amazing.”
Pam Hays, an advocate for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, will be the guest speaker at a 7 p.m. Veterans Day service Nov. 11 at Epworth United Methodist Church.
Hays, a Toledo Free Press columnist, is the president and founder of The Arms Forces, a nonprofit organization embracing the needs of veterans through individualized programs and services. Since 2009, the organization has worked closely with more than 400 veterans and their families. Hays is a traumatic brain injury survivor herself, having been involved in a motorcycle accident in 2000.
The Veterans Day program is part of the church’s monthly series on healing from physical, spiritual and emotional struggles.
Hays said her talk will center on how the community can come together to help veterans.
“Really what we’re about is making sure civilians and veterans and the military are connected,” Hays said of The Arms Forces. “We believe strongly that veterans and the community are better off when we stop isolating them and incorporate everyone into the same community and grow together. … Civilians need to be lifting up veterans in one way or another. How can [civilians] really be a part of it if we’re always saying that it’s only veterans who can help veterans?”
Hays’ research showed her a major gap in services available to veterans that can keep them from utilizing the system of supports and services in place for them. She has worked with Judge Advocate General’s Corps officers and U.S. Department of Defense personnel to help train officials on matters involving veterans’ services.
In working with veterans, Hays said she tries to center on the individual’s “moral wounds” sustained in military service, particularly in combat.
“You can’t go there without having your human spirit changed,” she said. “When they come back, there’s a lot of work being done in counseling and medical [needs], but no one’s really saying, ‘As a human being, how do you feel?’ … That takes a lot of time and a lot of vulnerability from the people who are helping them, but if we don’t get to that place, then all the other services seem to be wasted or not used as effectively.”
Beth Irwin, director of health ministries and director of communications at Epworth, said the church wanted to have a military angle for its November healing service.
“We have a number of veterans at Epworth and we know that there are many veterans out in the community,” Irwin said. “The healing process is ongoing for them. Pam has been very generous with her time and we’re happy to have her here as much as possible. She’s happy to share her personal experience of healing and show that it is possible to live a full life.”
In addition to Hays, the program will also feature a number of related scripture verses and hymns, as well as a time of open communion and hands-on prayer for anyone interested.
Epworth Church is located at 4855 W. Central Ave. For more information, visit www.thearmsforces.org.
After seven seasons, 37 flights and 2,071 veterans served, Honor Flight Northwest Ohio has taken its last flight.
The local hub formed in 2008 to fly World War II veterans to their memorial in Washington, D.C., free of charge. The organization has since opened to Korean and Vietnam veterans as well.
The group’s final flight was originally scheduled for September but an anonymous donor financed one more trip on Oct. 29, carrying 118 Vietnam and Korean veterans.
Navy veteran Kent Greenlese of Walbridge arrives home on the final Northwest Ohio Honor Flight on Oct. 29. Toledo Free Press Photo by Jeff Harris
Kent Greenlese, 66, of Walbridge was among the veterans on that flight.
Greenlese, who served in the Navy, said when he returned from Vietnam there were protesters at the airport in California and only his mother to greet him in Toledo. Honor Flight’s welcome home ceremony at Grand Aire terminal was a little different.
“I admit I was crying when that happened,” he said. “I didn’t expect so many people to be there. It was really emotional to see everyone screaming and waving and the band playing. The part that got me the most was when they started chanting, ‘USA! USA!’ I kind of lost it there. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”
MORE PHOTOS: Click here for more photos of Honor Flight Northwest Ohio’s final flight.
His favorite part was seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He also made rubbings at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of the names of two neighbors who were killed.
“I’m sorry it was the last trip,” he said. “There are a lot of people who didn’t get to go. But it was really terrific.”
Twin brothers Harold, left, and Howard Yunker, both of Swanton, at the Honor Flight Northwest Ohio welcome home ceremony Oct. 29 at Grand Aire terminal. Howard, an Army veteran, was on the flight. Harold, an Air Force veteran, was on an Honor Flight in 2012. Both are Vietnam veterans. Photo Courtesy Yunker Family
Vietnam veteran Howard Yunker of Swanton was also on the Oct. 29 flight. His twin brother, Harold, was there to welcome him home.
Harold, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Air Force, was on an Honor Flight trip two years ago. Howard served in the Army.
“He talks about it all the time,” Harold’s wife, Kathryn, said. “It was such an important day. I think it’s that way for everyone who goes. He was so excited.”
Marine Corps veteran Peter Brown, 65, of Toledo learned in August he would be on the Oct. 29 flight, but died two days later of complications of Agent Orange exposure during his service in Vietnam, his wife Conni Urbanski-Brown said. Honor Flight took Brown’s flag on the flight.
“That was such an honor for them to do that,” she said. “It’s the next best thing since he couldn’t go.”
Board member David Chilson, a Navy veteran, said closing the hub was a “difficult and emotional” decision, but the organization felt its original mission was complete. He declined to comment further as did other board members.
“We have taken really all of the World War II veterans who have applied,” Chilson told Toledo Free Press earlier this summer. “Many of the other hubs around the country have shut down once they took the WWII veterans. We’ve gone well beyond that.”
Peter Brown of Toledo, who served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, was scheduled to be on the Oct. 29 but died in August from complications of Agent Orange. Honor Flight Northwest Ohio brought his flag on the trip and presented it to his wife Conni Urbanski-Brown at the welcome home ceremony afterward. Toledo Free Press photo by Jeff Harris
“Honor Flight is much more than just seeing the memorials,” he told TFP in 2013. “It’s a chance to share the experience of the entire day with 70-some other veterans. What I hope they take away is that people still remember and are very appreciative for their service during World War II and during the Korean War and we still remember and honor them.”
The Honor Flight Network, which includes 135 regional hubs in 42 states, was founded in 2005 and has flown more than 81,000 veterans.
The biggest obstacle for hubs is fundraising, said Diane Gresse, executive director of Honor Flight Network. Nationally, there are about 20,000 veterans on waiting lists with a typical wait time of about a year, she said.
“It’s just a way to pay back the veterans for their service and their sacrifice,” Gresse said. “They are very genuinely humble and appreciate that Americans have not forgotten their service to our country.”
Gaylord and Chris Sheldon of Genoa have served as medical guardians on about 20 Honor Flight trips.
“To listen to some of their stories was just flat-out amazing,” Gaylord said. “It just gave me goosebumps thinking about what they went through.”
Gaylord is a retired battalion fire chief and his wife is a firefighter.
Korean War veteran Theodore LaCourse takes a photo of the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., during an Honor Flight Northwest Ohio trip in June. Photo Courtesy Tim Bellville
“I’m sorry to see it come to an end, but I’m even more sorry to see the World War II guys vanishing,” Gaylord said. “They are all getting old and passing away.”
The nearest hub now is Flag City Honor Flight in Findlay, which started in 2010 and offers one flight per year. This is the first year the group has had a waiting list, which president and flight director Deb Wickerham attributes partly to Toledo’s hub closing but also to growing awareness of Honor Flight among Korean and Vietnam veterans.
Army National Guard member and Marine Corps veteran Tim Bellville of Toledo served as a guardian for an Honor Flight Northwest Ohio trip in June.
“I love hanging around the ‘Greatest Generation,’” Bellville said.
“There was tears. There was hugs. There was a lot of silence,” he said of the veterans seeing their memorials. You hear a lot of the time, ‘They just don’t talk about it.’ But you get them around one of those memorials, and they open up. What Honor Flight is doing is admirable work, it really is.”
For more information, visit www.honorflight.org.
Army veteran Cecil Smith enjoys the welcome home celebration as the final Northwest Ohio Honor Flight arrives on Oct. 29. Toledo Free Press photo by Jeff Harris
Read more stories about veterans in our Veterans Day special issue:
I came late to the “Car Talk” party, but found a parking space pretty quickly.
Sometime in 1997 I was driving on I-71 from Columbus to Cincinnati and looking for something on the radio. Out from the static came two wry and raucous voices talking about the kind of person who’d own a Volvo. Specifically, a rusty, orange Volvo wagon.
I got interested, because a good friend took perverse pride in his wagon, a decade-old beater whose rust, a product of years of “Provincetown year-rounder” salt air, perfectly matched (and probably held together) what little orange paint was left.
“And this guy,” the voice on my Geo Prizm’s radio cracked, “will be wearing one of those — haw haw — Russian fur hats because — haw haw — THE HEATER DON’T WORK.”
That’s all I heard because I had to pull over, I was laughing so hard. George — that’s my rusty-Volvo-driving friend, who last time I saw him was driving a Jeep he customized himself — had one of those hats and wore it at the slightest excuse.
And just like that, Tom Magliozzi and his brother Ray got my attention and held it by translating a technical subject to human — and humorous — terms.
Tom was the “Click” of “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers,” hosts of “Car Talk” on NPR, and everybody’s go-to gurus for advice on cars and the lives we live around them.
Even the rapid-fire banjo strumming that was the opening theme of “Car Talk” took me back in time, to summer childhood nights spent listening to the distant roar of motors from the Toledo Speedway coming through the woods behind the house on Hoffman Road (it was a nice neighborhood once). I’m not sure why that particular connection is there — did TV commercials form the Speedway back then use similar music? — but it’s there.
That was the secret, I think, of the success of the show that reinvented the image of public radio.
Click and Clack, illustration by Don Lee
The image of two regular guys talking about cars, car repair and whatever else was on their mind that week both hid and augmented a couple of sharp and agile minds. It was easy to forget that Tom in particular was entitled to a string of letters after his name sufficient to bend a business card; he’d both taken and taught graduate-level courses, and both he and Ray were graduates of MIT.
If it’s true, as the old saying goes, that a well-stocked mind is never bored, then Tom and Ray were never, ever going to be bored. And neither would their listeners.
That’s why the news that Tom had died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease was especially sobering. It’s heartbreaking enough to see anyone’s mind slip away like that, but when an instrument so finely tuned starts to play false, it’s doubly unsettling.
Though Tom and Ray loved to talk cars on “Car Talk” and solve listeners’ car problems, they didn’t exactly obsess over them.
One call got no farther than, “I have an old Ford Fiesta,” before Tom and Ray were guffawing and shouting, “Sell it!” before offering advice that would get the little car and its owner through another day.
Cars are great, was the message, but they’re just cars. What’s more important? Just about everything else.
Here’s what Tom had to say about the subject: “Some guy I met said it’s amazing how we use cars on our show as an excuse to discuss everything in the world — energy, psychology, behavior, love, money, economics and finance. The cars themselves are boring as hell.” (He also said, “Kids, get away from the cellphones, get away from the computers and mail someone a fish before it’s too late.” So there’s that, too.)
There’s more like that from Tom over at cartalk.com, and now that you’ve wasted a perfectly good couple of minutes reading this, head on over there for more.
And though Ray might caution you, “Don’t drive like my brother,” it might not hurt to look at life the way he did.
Cartoonist Don Lee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @DonLeeCartoons.
This week our community was buzzing as Americans exercised their right to vote. There were winners and losers on each side of the aisle, but where do girls fall in that equation?
A recent Girl Scouts Research Institute poll showed two-thirds of those surveyed (1,000-plus 11- to 17-year-old females) were interested in politics — Girl Scouts and nonscouts alike. Eighty-three percent of those girls have participated in civic activities such as a cause or campaign, or engaged with an organization they believe in. The same percentage believe they are smart enough to have a career in politics.
But here’s the catch — only a third are interested in pursuing a career in politics.
Why the disconnect? The research is captivating. Something changes and girls stop having dreams of being the next mayor, congresswoman or president.
They stop short of envisioning political careers for themselves, seeing politics as a man’s world, partially attributable to a media lens that favors men. According to the poll, girls think the media depicts female politicians as more motivated by their emotions and at the same time, less capable, brave, resilient and visionary than their male counterparts. What message are we sending girls through social and mass media?
Even though they don’t want to enter politics, it’s not because of a lack of faith in their abilities. Of those surveyed, 84 percent said they are smart enough to have a career in politics. So they think they have the ability and feel like they’re strong leaders, but they’re not quite picturing themselves in the Oval Office. We need to motivate them to take that next step.
Girls need more support from the community and a growing list of opportunities they can experience and get excited about. Let’s offer more mentoring and job-shadowing positions to girls — inspire them to see the possibilities and positive role models available right here in Northwest Ohio. Female politicians and community leaders can take a more vocal role in dispelling some of the myths that say women are less capable than men.
The vast majority of girls surveyed believe there are other ways than politics to make a difference in the world. We can show girls the power of lasting change accomplished through legislative means, giving girls another space where women are seen as equally qualified decision makers.
Girl Scouts inspires and empowers girls to take action to change the world. Regardless of their political leaning, we want to instill in girls the skills and knowledge they need to become tomorrow’s leaders and take action on the things that matter the most to them — whatever that may be.
Read the full results of the poll yourself at girlscouts.org/research.
Angela Tennaro is director of regional services for Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
A Toledo court set aside for veterans is scheduled to handle its first case Jan. 1.
Judge William M. Connelly Jr. of Toledo Municipal Court will preside.
Judge William M. Connelly Jr. of Toledo Municipal Court,left, and Melody Powers, Veteran Justice Outreach Coordinator with the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Connelly will preside over a courtroom set aside for veterans starting Jan. 1. Toledo Free Press photo by Aaron Geller
The legal process in veterans court is much like that in domestic violence and drug and alcohol dockets, which help individuals through their legal troubles. As in these specialized dockets, veterans’ legal problems are often the result of deeper mental, emotional or social issues.
The veterans courtroom is meant to not only dole out consequences for veterans who commit crimes but also intervene in their underlying issues to help them lead responsible, productive lives.
Combat troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They may also have traumatic brain injuries, drug and alcohol problems and other psychiatric conditions. The court will identify these issues and match them up with the appropriate services.
Many veterans from the Vietnam era have been dealing with their problems for years, in and out of the criminal justice system. Now, the new court’s veterans coordinator will go into jails looking for veterans who may be candidates for the treatment court.
Veterans court will only handle misdemeanor crimes, including disorderly conduct, “self-destructive” crimes like drug possession or more serious crimes like assault. The offending veteran will have to plead guilty or no contest in order to qualify for veterans court.
A person who is drunk and yelling in the street, for example, could end up before Connelly, who said he wants to intervene as quickly as possible to prevent the boomerang effect — veterans who commit a crime, serve time and are released only to commit another crime.
“You want to stop that and … get them into services,” he said. “My hope is that we are able to intervene as early as possible and save lives of veterans who have served the country.”
This is where Veterans Affairs (VA) steps in. The agency works to match veterans with professional services, such as mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling or help with a job search.
Melody Powers, a veteran justice outreach coordinator with the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, is one of three coordinators who link veterans with services. Powers works with veterans courts in Jackson and Redford, Michigan.
The outreach coordinator initiates first contact with the veteran and can make referrals to the treatment court, which then supports veterans through the process.
“You see lives completely changed,” Powers said. “I’ve seen people go from no income, no home, struggling with substance abuse, struggling with relationships. After treatment, they have all those things in place: job, income, reunited with family. The courts have just been so successful.”
The VA’s Leslie Witherell, who will coordinate the Toledo court, has already been combing the jails, looking for veterans who would be a good fit for the court where the judge gets on a personal level with the veteran.
“The judge becomes interested in that person personally: �?I heard you had a baby or got a job, good for you,’” Witherell said. “If you screw up, it’s not a punitive thing but still sanctioned. We don’t let them go. We will continue to uphold them because their issues are so unique.”
At every step of the way in the court system, the VA has the opportunity to become involved by asking, “Are you a veteran?” In Ohio, it’s “pretty standard” that those being booked into jail are asked if they’re a veteran, Connelly said; when they first appear in the court, they’re asked if they’re a veteran once again.
Once identified, the outreach coordinator performs an assessment on each veteran and then services are put in place. The ideal is to intervene before any type of regular court punishment occurs.
“I think often the Vietnam veterans have immersed themselves in work. After they retire, they start to struggle again and don’t know they’re eligible for VA care,” Powers said. “So this is a real opportunity to reach out and engage people.”
After a veteran pleads guilty in veterans court, the sentence is 18-24 months in what is a three-phase treatment program.
The misconception is that treatment court is easy but that couldn’t be further from the truth, Powers said. She called it “very intense supervision” by the court system.
For the first 45 days, or phase one, the veteran will meet with the judge every two weeks and a probation officer every week. They must keep every VA appointment and not violate any terms of their probation. The next four or five months, or phase two, allow more freedom as the veteran reintegrates into work or school. Phase three lasts 90 days, after which participating veterans graduate out of the program.
If the veteran completes treatment and does not reoffend, jail time can be dismissed. The goal is not to incarcerate, Connelly said, but jail isn’t off the table if the veteran commits an offense that warrants it.
“In the courts I’ve worked with in Southeast Michigan, anyone who has graduated the program has not re-offended,” Powers said.
The veterans often become so invested in the process, they return to court as mentors.
Michigan has 21 veteran treatment courts and Ohio has 10, including ones in Cleveland, Hamilton County, Mansfield and Youngstown. Akron, Dayton and Toledo all have courts in the same stages of development, Powers said.
In Redford District Court in Michigan, Chief Judge Karen Khalil presides over a veterans court that has processed 52 cases and has an 80 percent success rate, Khalil said.
One of the main reasons for its effectiveness is the three-phase structure the court offers to the veterans who are trained in the military way of life, she said.
“We’ve placed the structure back in their lives that they have become accustomed to in the military. It’s very rigorous and stringent,” Judge Khalil said. “They seem to thrive.
“You have to understand there’s a whole team of people monitoring everything that they’re doing. The judge is in charge, the mentor coordinator, probation department keeping track and justice outreach — so there’s a whole group of people constantly involved.”
Initially in Redford’s district court, people said the veterans were getting a “free pass,” but that is not true, Khalil said. The court is holding them responsible, she said, and that can be a struggle for them.
Defense attorney Rick Graham, who also has a private practice, advocates for the veterans before Khalil. A Vietnam veteran, Graham said helping other veterans out of their troubles is the “highest honor” that could be bestowed on him.
“Veterans are not typical defendants — they’re not drinking and using drugs to get high; they’re using to suppress memories,” Graham said. “Our court treats the symptoms: �?How did you get here and why did you get here?’”
Graham said about 35 percent of the men and woman who have transitioned from Iraq and Afghanistan back to civilian life have some form of PTSD.
“Nobody goes to war and comes back unchanged,” he said.
A third of the veterans the Redford court sees are Vietnam veterans and a majority served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The court sees more Marines than any other branch.
The application for Toledo’s veterans court is now before the Ohio Supreme Court, Connelly said. He will begin hearing cases on Jan. 1. The first veterans to go before the court have not yet been identified.
