Two Services In Escambia County that will Help Veterans Entangled in the Criminal Justice System

Two programs locally have been and/or are being developed and expanded in Escambia County to assist veterans who are involved in the criminal justice system.

The First Judicial Circuit of Florida and Judge Ed Nickinson developed a program in 2015 locally to assist veterans that find themselves entangled in the criminal justice system.  Two years ago,  Judge Bergosh took the helm of this program.

Often times veterans that have suffered injuries associated with their service and deployments become entangled in the courts for minor drug offenses that can multiply and escalate quickly. The genesis for the drug abuse can often be traced to dependence on opioids by these same veterans who utilize such medicines to manage pain.

Once the prescriptions for these painkillers are yanked--often these veterans turn to illicit drugs for relief.  And often this results in these veterans being arrested and incarcerated.

Judge Bergosh spoke on WCOA on Wednesday and discussed the program in detail--it was a very good and informative interview.  You can hear the full interview here.

In addition to the Veteran's Treatment Court--Judge Bergosh is teamed up with Escambia County (who helped with sponsorship of food and beverages and the use of the Artel Gallery), POE in Action (a 501 c 3 nonprofit dedicated to assisting veterans in need) and other community volunteers in the establishment of a mentoring program for veterans.

This mentoring program was discussed during Wednesday morning's interview on WCOA, and a kickoff event was held Wednesday evening at Artel gallery for the purpose of recruiting area veterans to serve as mentors to fellow veterans who have found themselves involved in the criminal justice system locally.

About 50 community members came out to the kickoff meeting Wednesday evening, and it appears as if dozens of community members have stepped forward to help and to serve as mentors in this program.

I look forward to watching this program grow, and I look forward to assisting these efforts in any way I can from my position on the County Commission.