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City judge to seek court for veterans
Photo
Judge Robert Milich
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
Some military veterans who run afoul of the law in Youngstown soon will have additional help addressing their alcohol-abuse and mental-health issues.
Judge Robert P. Milich of Youngs-town Municipal Court is taking the initial steps to create a veterans court here.
The judge and area criminal-justice, court and veterans-services professionals will take a trip next week to Buffalo, N.Y., to visit the first veterans court in the country.
Judge Milich said many aspects of a veterans court here could be taken from the established program in Buffalo. The Buffalo system integrates substance-abuse treatment and mental services with criminal-case processing, monitors participants and offers mentor services.
Judge Milich said the program could be implemented at no additional costs by creating a separate docket for the program and placing qualifying veterans on that docket.
Volunteer organizations, he said, then would get the individual into any needed programs.
The idea of creating a veterans court, the judge said, has been received favorably by those contacting his office.
Judge Milich, a retired Air Force colonel, said implementing a veterans court is something he has wanted to do for a long time, but the idea was pushed to the side until recently when Cheryl Debow, a city probation officer, expressed challenges in her family with veterans returning from service in other countries.
Debow has two sons who have returned from serving the military in Iraq. She said watching her sons has convinced her of the necessity of programs such as the veterans court.
“When they first come back, they are so proud and don’t want to get help because they are taught that to get help means you are weak, and you just can’t be weak,” she said. “This is a great opportunity to get help for our veterans who truly need the help.”
Jay Macejko, city prosecutor, said he has noticed an upswing in the number of criminal cases involving individuals with a military background. He said his office would be dedicated to getting those people onto the veterans-court docket immediately to receive any needed help from participating agencies.
Jim Campbell, an American Legion member, said there is a definite need because a lot of returning veterans have issues to address.
“A lot of our young people coming back are both mentally and physically challenged. ... We need to reach out to those young people and let them know we are here for them and support them in whatever they need to get on track,” he said.