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LOS ANGELES – As the nation works towards normalizing conversations around mental health wellness, Melissa Fitzgerald, former "West Wing" star turned “actorvist,” urges others to support programs that help give second chances to veterans involved in the justice system due to mental health disorders or substance abuse.
Politicians like Arizona Republican Sen. Martha McSally, along with four other U.S. senators, are working on bipartisan bills for expanding veteran treatment courts across the country. A majority of the public is not aware of veterans court, which is one of the reasons why Fitzgerald, now the director of the Advancing Justice Initiative at the NADCP and Justice For Vets, works to raise awareness about the impact veterans treatment courts have had on the lives of those who have served the country.
Justice for Vets is a program that is dedicated to transforming the way the justice system identifies, assesses and treats our veterans, leading the national effort to put a veterans treatment court in reach of every veteran in need. Established in 2010, Justice for Vets has helped establish 250 treatment courts and has trained over 3,000 court staff.
Melissa sat with one of the treatment court judges; Judge Wendy Lindley, who helped spearhead a movement to develop alternatives to incarceration for veterans in the justice system, and with two veterans from the program, Eric Gonzalez and Jeff Henson.
Fitzgerald explained that Veterans Day is our annual opportunity to honor our living veterans for the sacrifices they have made for our country. She also shared the following statement about her work, the effectiveness of veterans court and why it’s important to support such programs:
For more information about Justice For Vets head over to https://justiceforvets.org/about/