VTC Mentor Bootcamp
The Court held Mentor Bootcamp training through Justice for Vets on March 21 and 22 in the 12th floor Education Center.
25 mentors from across the state attended the training, including several who volunteer their time for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court's Veterans Treatment Court and Cleveland Municipal Court Veterans Treatment Court. A former VTC graduate also attended in order to become a mentor.
Mentors are retired veterans who volunteer their time to help new clients in VTCs. Research shows that veterans do better when they are working with other veterans. By leveraging the military culture, VTCs have can connect with offenders better than other treatment courts, or when moving through the traditional criminal justice system.
During the training, mentors learn critical tips on how to effectively mentor struggling veterans participating in VTC. The coursework examined roles, responsibilities, boundaries of veteran mentors; the unique issues facing combat veterans; and how to swiftly connect mentee veterans to local, state and national services and benefits they have earned.