There are more than 200,000 military veterans living in Nevada, according to the latest numbers — of those, nearly 1,100 are incarcerated.
Ten years ago, former governor Jim Gibbons signed legislation creating Nevada’s veterans court system to keep those with mental health issues out of jail and put them into treatment instead. The program was implemented in 2009 and the first veteran treatment court opened in 2011.
There are now five such courts in the state, including four in Clark County. How do they work, and have they changed since their inception? We asked volunteer advocate Byron Brooks and attorney Craig Drummond, both veterans themselves who’ve worked in all the local veteran treatment courts.
Resources:
Byron Brooks, volunteer advocate; Craig Drummond, attorney
