Successful Allegheny County Veterans Court adds 32 graduates
When Jerrod Stimmel watched a group of veterans graduate from Allegheny County's Veterans Court several years ago, he scoffed.
The Army vet was bitter about being in the program for years on a drug plea, but he said he gradually came to recognize that it was there to help him get back on track.
“You didn't just plead into veterans court; you accepted raising the bar on your life and taking the opportunity to grow,” Stimmel, 43, said as the speaker for the sixth graduating class Thursday.
Run by Common Pleas Judges William Ward and John Zottola, the court is focused on rehabilitating and connecting veterans to services they need, rather than just handing down punishments. Participants must go through evaluations for substance abuse and mental health, and adhere to treatment plans, before they can graduate.
The program works: 98 per‑cent of graduates do not return, said district attorney's office spokesman Mike Manko. The recidivism rate of 2 percent compares to a rate of about 60 percent within three years of release for the general prison population in Pennsylvania, according to a 2013 report from the state.
Allegheny County was one of the first in Pennsylvania to institute a specialty veterans court in 2009. The National Association of Drug Courts Professionals counted 220 similar veterans courts nationwide as of June 2014.
Defendants are represented for free by certified law students from a special clinic at Duquesne University, and the Department of Veterans Affairs picks up other costs.
Including Thursday's cohort of 32 graduates, nearly 100 have completed the program. About 180 veterans have entered it since its inception.
Two veterans graduated from the program posthumously, with folded American flags for their families to go with their graduation certificates. Beth Krut accepted the flag on behalf of Travis Cameron, 35, of Duquesne, the father of her 12-year-old daughter. He died three months ago; the cause is still pending, she said.
“I'm glad I came; I see there's a lot of people who go through this,” said Krut, 47, of Mt. Oliver Borough, who planned to send the flag to Cameron's family in Florida to keep for her daughter. “I think the program really works. It was working for Travis.”
Stimmel said the court kept him out of trouble long enough to help him find the tools he needed to grow, and he urged others to do the same.
“Keep your head up. There's a lot you can offer the community, for sure,” he said.
Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-391-0927 or msantoni@tribweb.com.
