The Veterans Justice Outreach Initiative of NJRC works to provide critically needed services to those veterans, regardless of discharge status, who are being released from state prison, county jail, or addiction treatment centers. Veterans Justice Outreach Initiative also works with court-involved veterans who have not been imprisoned but who have nonetheless been engaged with the criminal justice system.

This program is designed and executed to assist those veterans in securing medical and behavioral treatment for health ailments, mental health problems, and addiction. NJRC seeks to decrease the participation of veterans in the court system and provide them with the necessary supportive services and resources through affiliated veterans organizations, hospitals, and healthcare providers, and advocacy groups to offer the treatment and tools necessary for grappling with challenges ranging from anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

These services available to veterans include linkage to addiction treatment; mental, behavioral, and medical healthcare; legal services, e.g., addressing outstanding fines and warrants, procuring MVC identification and licenses, and expungements; securing federal (Medicaid and Veterans Affairs) and state (SNAP, Food Stamps) benefits; referral to structured sober housing; and training at the NJRC Reentry Training Center for “industry-recognized credentials” to secure career employment.

In working with allied veteran organizations, the VHA, and service providers, NJRC is committed to programming that will be responsive to the priorities of court-involved veterans. To the extent that existing services across multiple fields fail to address veteran needs, NJRC is committed to ethically supplying those peer-reviewed best practices to veterans through NJRC and private foundation sources.