In February of 2016, CIVOC signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Barnstable County’s Sherriff’s Department in which we agreed to visit veteran inmates, apprise them of all of our services, and hopefully engage them to participate in our services after their release.
The Sherriff’s Department’s agreed to attempt to identify the veteran status of inmates, secure a release of information from them, notify us of their incarceration and schedule visits.
We have engaged with only eight inmates since that time, and are attempting to work more closely with the Sherriff’s department to streamline the process of identification and referral.
It is widely believed that veterans’ difficulties with the legal system are often related to the after effects of service. Our hope is not to excuse these veterans, but to assist them in addressing their challenges so that illegal behaviors do not become an ongoing pattern in their lives.
