The San Joaquin County Superior Court will hold its Veterans Treatment Court graduation on Monday, April 8 at 10 a.m. in Department 10-D at the Stockton Courthouse, 180 E. Weber Ave. The Honorable Barbara A. Kronlund will preside over the ceremony. A mission of the Veterans Treatment Court is to identify eligible veterans in the criminal justice system and place them into treatment and court supervision as an alternative to incarceration. This is San Joaquin’s seventh ceremony since the Veterans Court was founded in 2015.

The Veterans Court Graduation will honor 10 military veterans who have successfully completed an intensive program and have pledged to keep marching towards recovery. The program is a combination of judicial supervision, justice partner collaborative efforts and appropriate treatment and support.

A growing number of veterans suffer from trauma (such as traumatic brain injury), mental health conditions (such as PTSD) and substance abuse disorders. Veterans treatment courts connect these men and women to the benefits and treatment they have earned. Also, each participant in the program is partnered with a mentor who is a combat veteran. Each mentor acts as a coach, role model and advocate, sharing experiences, guiding the veteran through the program and lending support when needed. There are now more than 350 of these courts in the United States.