Police encounter with Veteran has positive results

Detective Brendan Dougherty from the Upper Marion Township Police Department recently worked with Montgomery County’s Veterans Response Team (VRT), and came away impressed.

Adopted from another community, Montgomery County’s VRT began under the guidance of a Veteran Justice Outreach social worker at Coatesville VA Medical Center. The Veterans who qualify for health care are likely to receive their care at Coatesville VA or one of the other facilities in the area.

Having an established Veterans Response Team network isn’t just helping Veterans in crisis. It’s helping the police officers, first responders and the departments who see the value in having trained VRT members in their community and encourage them to sign up.

Dougherty has been in constant contact with other VRT members while supporting a Montgomery County Veteran through their 18-month wellness journey, and it has opened the detective’s eyes to what this team can accomplish when they all commit to being accessible and helping the Veterans in their community. 

What is the Veterans Response Team?

“The VRT is a network of people who already serve the citizens of Montgomery County and who work together to connect Veterans with the many programs and services available to them at the county, state and federal level. The team is designed around the current trends in the county’s Veteran population, the needs of first responders in the field and the resources available from our all our partners,” explained Anna Trout, crisis and diversion director for the Montgomery County Office of Mental Health. 

Benefits beyond the Veteran in crisis

Even the Law enforcement officers who are Veterans are surprised at how much they have learned since joining. Team members are quick to admit that they were unaware of many of the benefits they are eligible for until they started helping other Veterans. “First responders who have gone through the process of accessing the care and benefits they deserve themselves can better help their fellow Veterans,” said Trout.

That’s why every first Veteran responder who joins VRT is encouraged to apply for VA benefits and to sign up with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs registry.

Unexpected benefits

Veterans helping Veterans is having unexpected benefits for VRT members.

Chief of Police at Lower Providence Township Police Department Michael Jackson said his department was getting called out several times a week to one location for domestic disturbances. During one visit, a police officer saw something that tipped him off there was a Marine Corps Veteran in the home.

After confirming that one of them was a Veteran, the officer got permission from the Marine to call in Corporal Justin Hubert, Lower Providence Township officer and Marine Corps Veteran, who has combat experience and recently completed VRT training.

The two began talking and Hubert deescalated the situation. He discovered the Marine also had combat experience. The visits went from confrontational to check-ins, and the Veteran told Hubert things he never told anyone else. Hubert connected the Veteran to VA resources and eventually the domestic disturbance calls stopped all together.

It’s a no brainer

Following that first visit with the Veteran, two things happened. The first was that the Marine Corps Veteran called Jackson (pictured above) and thanked him because he had never had a positive interaction with the police, ever. According to Jackson, the second was that Hubert was overwhelmed by a sense of satisfaction in helping someone who had walked in his shoes, someone he was uniquely qualified to help.

Jackson explained why VRT is growing so quickly in Montgomery County.

“It’s a no brainer because it costs the department nothing,” Jackson said, when describing the decision to offer officers the opportunity to be VRT members. “It’s another tool in the toolkit for law enforcement to deescalate situations and build relationships.”

Jackson explained that having VRT-trained officers is helping his whole department because other officers understand the power of calling in someone who can make that personal connection and have better odds of turning a negative encounter into a positive one.

If you are a military Veteran in crisis, service member, their family or caregiver, call the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 then Press 1.