Public Health students support local Veterans Treatment Court in Harnett County

The Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) is a recovery and support service for military veterans who have been sentenced by a court of law, but are granted the opportunity to pursue substance abuse and mental health treatment therapy instead of serving jail time. The top three charges are often DWI, drug charges, and simple assault. The victims do have a voice in whether or not the offender’s participation in the program is a sufficient reprimand for their crime(s).

Campbell University’s Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) students are afforded the opportunity to volunteer with the VTC. Students typically work on assessments to determine what services are needed. Other students may work on a recovery track for program participants. This counts toward the MSPH practicum and capstone requirements. Students from Campbell’s Social Work, Criminal Justice, and School of Osteopathic Medicine have also participated in the VTC.

VTC was created nine years ago by Chief District Court Judge Albert Corbett Jr., District Attorney Vernon Stewart, and Clerk of Superior Court Marsha Johnson. These professionals saw a need for veterans who had lived productive lives prior to serving in the military and experienced high deployment rates, traumas of war, and ultimately developed bad coping mechanisms to receive specialized help. The program is tailored to each individual based on specific needs.

Offenders work through a series of assessments and observations with mental health and substance abuse providers, counselors, and social workers to develop treatment plans. Veterans Treatment Court Director Zane Campbell observed, “This is what leads to success. It’s a team developing a treatment plan versus one single provider. Sixty percent of people who serve an initial sentence will be repeat offenders. Most treatment courts see 20 percent of their participants become repeat offenders. Only 6 percent of our participants are repeat offenders. Our process works!”

ERIN TAYLOR (’25 MPAP/MSPH CANDIDATE), ALLIE LEWIS (’25 MPAP/ MSPH CANDIDATE), ASHBY KING (’27 PHARMD/MSPH CANDIDATE) and NI PENN-HENRY (’27 PHARMD/MSPH CANDIDATE) recently completed their practicum hours at the VTC. The MSPH students were able to utilize what they learned in class and implement those ideas in a real-world setting. The team created a pamphlet for veterans going through the program. The pamphlet outlined available resources, helpful contacts, information on what to expect from the program, and some progress statistics to lend encouragement.

Lewis noted, “We have had the opportunity to build relationships with the staff as well as the veterans receiving treatment through the Hartnett County Veterans Treatment Court. We observe the court weekly and have been working to provide support wherever it is needed. As public health students, it is our goal to meet the needs of the community we set out to serve. For the veterans here in Harnett County, community is a top need.”

The students also coordinated a community fall event for the veterans, court officials, program workers, and several MSPH students and faculty. This allowed an opportunity to engage the veterans outside of a stressful environment. The event was hosted on the property of a retired Campbell law professor. “Our time at the VTC was an amazing experience, and it definitely helped us look at public health in a different lens when it comes to an underserved group of the population,” Penn-Henry concluded.

DR. PETER AHIAWODZI, associate professor of Public Health, shared, “Our collaboration with the VTC is very important because the organization fills a critical vacuum for public health by providing evidence-based treatment for substance abuse and mental health. Most importantly, veterans deserve respect for their service to our country. This program is like no other in helping veterans who have gotten into trouble with the law to readjust and become successful and responsible citizens.”