March 3, 2011
Supreme Court Offers Webinar on Veterans Issues, Access to Services
The Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College addressed how the Ohio judiciary can provide access to services for veterans in a one-hour webinar last week. The webinar featured Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Marysville’s Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Gordon described post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other health issues that service members and veterans face during and after tours of duty. She said that TBI and PTSD are the signature injuries in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, with an estimated 30 percent of the military returning home with one or both of the disorders. The conditions outlined by Dr. Gordon often are behind a veteran’s involvement with the criminal justice system.
Justice Stratton recommended that courts make it standard practice to ask if someone has military experience as a way to connect veterans with resources available to them, such as the Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Program and the Ohio Benefit Bank. She said Ohio has the fifth-largest veterans’ population in the U.S.
Justice Stratton and Dr. Gordon will also be part of the documentary Operation Resurrection: The Warrior Returns, to be released Nov. 11. The documentary will offer solutions for better health care, education and employment of returning veterans, and assistance for veterans who became involved in the criminal justice system.
The Judicial College will present another distance learning course on statutes related to veterans in the courts in the spring. The Supreme Court plans to release other videos outlining the services available through the VJO Program.
For a high-resolution, print-quality photo of Justice Stratton, visit: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/images/justices/stratton_highres.zip.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.