Oklahoma County Treatment Court Helps Veterans Find Healing

More than 100,000 people in U.S. prisons are veterans according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The adjustment to life after the military can be a battle. One Navy veteran graduated from an Oklahoma program that he said saved his life.

The Oklahoma Veterans Treatment Court, “creates and supervises treatment plans addressing the underlying causes of incarcerated veterans behavior, substance abuse issues and rehabilitation.”

“I like where I am now. It was a rough road getting here,” said Ruben Townsend, a former U.S. Navy veteran. “I had other issues. You know.”  

Serving in the armed forces can be traumatic, which can lead to problems down the road.

“There’s some experiences, and not only do they have the potential to destroy, but they’ve also seen the destruction,” Townsend said.

Townsend didn’t leave his experiences overseas, they came home with him.

“You would never know it from my facial expression,” Townsend said.

Townsend became an expert at hiding his feelings.  

“That is exactly what is trained in the military,” said Kiel Kuroki, the program coordinator at the Oklahoma County Drug Treatment Court. “You compartmentalize and you focus on the mission.” 

The trauma in Townsend’s life caught up to him and he faced time behind bars. Townsend chose to enter the Oklahoma County Veterans Treatment Court.   

“The cost to incarcerate someone is so much more than what it is to actually treat them,” Kuroki said. 

Kuroki stood in the Oklahoma County Courthouse too.

“I was an addict for 17 years of my life,” Kuroki said. “I have had charges in Payne County, in Oklahoma County.”

Of course, Kuroki’s life is better now.  

“I’ve been clean since March 3rd of 2016 now,” Kuroki said. 

The same can be said about Townsend.   

“I earned my undergrad degree,” Townsend said. “I’m happy to say, in April, I’ll have my Master’s.”  

This judicial process sees the person who sacrificed a lot to protect the place where the courthouse sits.

“We need to do a better job of serving them,” Kuroki said.

Townsend said these opportunities give people another chance at life.

“That’s real. That’s not pie-in-the-sky verbiage,” Townsend said. “That’s straight butter baby.”