How Centre County is helping veterans who find themselves in the criminal justice system
A former Army staff sergeant and combat engineer knew suicide would have been the final stop had he continued with the life he was living.
He spoke with striking clarity about where life had led him, including his turn toward alcohol to help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder after he was deployed to Iraq.
His emotion was palpable even as he spoke with his camera turned off during a videoconference, part of his request to not be identified publicly in exchange for speaking freely about his time in Centre County’s Veteran’s Treatment Track Initiative.
“Having this program is no doubt the only reason I’m still here,” he said. “There is no doubt in my mind I would have taken my own life if this would have gone the traditional route.”
The program, in some ways, is no different than the work Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna’s office does on a daily basis. The goal in many cases is to address the underlying reason someone was arrested.
The approach with veterans, however, is even more deliberate. It was founded by veterans, for veterans.
Attorney, veteran and Penn State alumnus Daniel Clarke was instrumental in the creation of the initiative, which launched early 2021. There were 25 formal veterans treatment courts as of last year in Pennsylvania, the first of which opened in 2009.
Those courts, Clarke said, are typically more rigid in their requirements. Centre County’s initiative is designed to be more flexible, one that doesn’t require a lengthy sentence as a prerequisite for admission.
Applications are usually reviewed first by Centre County Assistant District Attorney Julia Dellinger, who is a former military police Cpl. in the Army Reserve.
Heading the mentorship program — which pairs veterans with other veterans — is Ken Stanton, a man who served more than 30 years in the Air Force and retired as a master sergeant.
“The (Veterans Affairs) system and treatment and all the things that a veteran may have to navigate, you’re usually throwing all that on when they’re at one of their lowest points in life. They’re coming off a DUI, they’re coming off a domestic violence charge — they’re coming off problems,” Clarke said. “These are problems that were not either addressed well, if at all, in the service.
“This person has gotten to a point in life where, in addition to navigating all this, here’s this whole legal, administrative thing. They’re at the bottom of a hole. So we figured who best to try to help them in this position than fellow veterans.”
Anyone who served in the United States armed forces is eligible for the program. One of the first steps is often participation in the mentorship program, which Dellinger said is a “huge part” of the initiative.
It can serve as a bellwether of someone’s willingness to fall in line with the program’s requirements.
“We try to make it worthwhile,” Dellinger said. “If the veterans are willing to put in the work for it, then they’re going to get a benefit out of it and it’s going to be reflected in what they’re ultimately sentenced to or not sentenced to.”
Holding up that mentorship program is a team of veteran volunteers led by Stanton, ones that understand other veterans will likely be more responsive to their peers rather than a judge, prosecutor or probation officer.
Clarke described mentors as “part social worker, part advocate and part battle buddy.” Asking someone to follow regimen at one of their lowest points, Stanton said, is not always easy.
Mentors — which the program is looking for more of — do not have to be a veteran, though it certainly helps.
“The compensation comes right here,” Stanton said while pointing to his heart. “That’s where the compensation is at the end of every day. It can be positive there and it can hurt there too. It’s purposeful for a good reason.”
Five people have graduated since the program launched, including the man who spoke with the CDT. Four more are working through it and three others are pending acceptance, Cantorna said. Two did not successfully complete the program.
A regional, formal veterans treatment court that includes Centre County is scheduled to begin proceedings at the beginning of next year. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd described the move as a “significant step towards supporting justice involved veterans’ rehabilitation and successful reintegration into their communities.”
Centre County’s initiative will continue plugging away in the meantime, looking to help all of those who served.
“One life saved is worth all the effort that we put into it,” Cantorna said.
Those interested in becoming a mentor may either call 814-404-1919 or email CentreCoVMP@gmail.com. Additional information can be found online.