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Starting in mid-January, Indianapolis will have a new interventionist court where military veterans accused of non-violent, minor offenses will have their cases heard – and ultimately dismissed if they follow the orders of the court.
The Indy Veterans Court, 902 Virginia Ave. in Fountain Square, will draw from arrests made downtown – over to but not including Lawrence and southeast to just beyond Beech Grove.
A key aspect of Indy Veterans Court is the pairing each veteran defendant with a veteran mentor from the community.
The man hiring all the veteran mentors is Christopher McFadden – a veteran of the Indiana Army National Guard. He served close to home, two years at the Newport Chemical Depot, was sent to New Orleans right after Katrina and also served a year in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. McFadden admits returning home after combat was a challenge.
“What I experienced personally and what my brethren – my brothers and sisters we had some females who went with us – experienced when they came home was that they were afraid to ask for help," McFadden said. "And that fear came from you know the fear of being viewed as weak. I was one of the first people to finally break down and admit and say hey that I’m broken. Superman is broke. He’s found his kryptonite and it’s PTSD.”
McFadden says he sought treatment and then took resiliency training to learn about how to identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries so he could help his fellow soldiers. Sadly, McFadden says he’s lost nine comrades to suicide.
“I had a long conversation with one of my soldiers about two years ago and he wasn’t in a very good place and he recently, as of this past year, passed – at much too young of an age," McFadden said. "So, it’s very important to me that I can now be in this position with the Indy Veterans Court to recognize in the courtroom these individuals who may not share everything with the court.”
Today, McFadden is on a mission to line up veteran mentor volunteers to help provide support to each veteran accused of a crime.
“We need all age groups, all walks of life. The more life experience you have, the better off you are," McFadden said. "If you’ve had some adversity in your life and you’ve overcome that adversity and you think you could be an inspiration to one of our participants, you’re probably a perfect candidate.”
McFadden says the goal is to find a good match for each defendant – a combat veteran mentor with a combat veteran participant – Marine with Marine and veterans of the same gender. Though no longer in the military, McFadden feels a strong responsibility to helping veterans, especially those who have found themselves in trouble with the law.
“I look forward to being to have people to sit across from me where you’re sitting and say, 'Hey brother, hey sister, I’ve been where you are. I was hurting too. I was down and out and your life is not over. I will be there every step of the way for you. It doesn’t matter if it takes a year, a year and a half or two years. I’m here for you,'” McFadden said.
The Indy Veteran Court is funded by a federal 3-year start up grant. Advocacy groups are pushing for legislation to fund and implement veteran courts throughout the state.
To possibly become a veteran mentor volunteer contact Christopher McFadden at (317) 327-1025 or Christopher.McFadden@Indy.gov
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