On Today’s episode of The SHAIR Podcast we have Steve C. joining us. Steve recently celebrates 4 years clean and sober. His alcoholism took flight primarily during his time in Iraq where he self-medicated with alcohol to manage his PTSD. When he came back from active duty his drinking was coping mechanism in life until his Son falls prey to this deadly disease and Steve seeks help for his Son in the Rooms of alcoholics anonymous where he can no longer deny that he himself is an alcoholic.
Today Steve works a rigorous 12 step recovery program as well as spear heading a community outreach program that the local judicial system has adopted as a way to rehabilitate alcoholics that are currently facing prison time. Follow along as Steve takes us through what is now referred to as the Veterans Court.
Here is what Steve has to say about his involvement with Veterans Court.
One of the mentorship things I do now is I work with a veteran’s court. What the veterans court is it's just like the drug court in that the judges feel that these guys coming back trying to reconnect with society and they're getting in trouble, they want to give them a second chance because they served their country. What they do is they set up this court system. It's a lot like our recovery programs where these guys meet once a week with the judge, and the judge talks to them and wants them to talk about what's going on in their lives, what they're feeling, and kind of puts together a rehabilitation program for these guys to work, ways to give back to society and to make amends. If they do all the things they're supposed to do, they drop the charges at the end of the year.
I've been working with these guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan as a mentor, and it's kind of a new program in the county that I'm in, so I volunteered. I said, "Let me take all the guys with drugs and alcohol problems," because I said, "I'm the only mentor they have that’s in the program, so that’s what I specialize in." I get these guys, they're coming in and I'm making sure that they're going to meetings. I not only work the veterans program, but I also work their step work with them, too, and make sure they're getting sponsors and they're going to the meetings. That’s the way I've been able to give back.