Veterans Coming Home: Finding What Works

MontanaPBS is proud to bring you stories of local Montana veterans for the 2018 season of Veterans Coming Home: Finding What Works. These stories, produced in partnership with Kindling Group, explores successful solutions to veteran reintegration that are benefiting individuals and their communities by capitalizing on veterans as assets and leaders. Finding What Works is a cross-platform project that integrates a core digital video series, photo essays and written content with digital distribution strategy and partnerships that build audience, facilitate conversation, and drive people to action.

Veterans Coming Home aims to help veterans and their communities understand the opportunities and challenges faced during the transition to civilian life. Featuring a digital-first series available for streaming on PBS Stories of Service and other partner sites, the project explores military and civilian relationships, and values of service and citizenship as powerful connectors for all Americans.

Veterans Coming Home: Finding What Works

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Examining some of the programs that are helping post 9-11 veterans here in Montana.

MontanaPBS

Veterans Coming Home | Courts Assisting Military Offenders

Veteran’s treatment courts provide a holistic approach to addressing the needs of a veteran who has gotten in trouble. We go behind the scenes at Veteran’s Treatment Court in Billings, Montana, for a close up look at judge who created and maintains the court, the team that supports her, and the vets, whose lives the court changes every day. To learn more, visit Justiceforvets.org.

MontanaPBS

Veterans Coming Home | Warriors and Quiet Waters

Warriors and Quiet Waters is a program that provides post 9-11 wounded warriors a professionally taught fly fishing experience in Montana. The learning experience provides a new sense of purpose, relaxation, and comradery that can change and save lives. We follow vets on a fishing adventure that is changing & improving their lives. To learn more, visit warriorsandquietwaters.org.

MontanaPBS

Veterans Coming Home | Extreme Sports for Veterans

The search for the adrenaline rush they experienced in battle, can often lead vets to high levels of destructive behaviors, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts and actions. Extreme Sports for Vets provides vets with that adrenaline rush in a safe, supervised situation, while connecting them with other veterans and potentially life- saving services. To learn more, visit xsports4vets.org.

Veterans Coming Home

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Billings is home to one of Montana’s 4 veteran’s treatment courts, which holistically approach the unique needs of veterans in the justice system.

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District Judge Mary Jane Knisely created the Billings and considers her work there as a labor of love and honor.

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Officer Jared Lausch helps out in CAMO (Courts Assisting Military Offenders). As a veteran himself, he can relate to the challenges facing many of the offenders.

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Officer Lausch is part of a multi-disciplinary team that assesses and addresses the issues facing the veterans in court.

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Veteran Luis Campos benefitted from the work of the team and personal interactions with Judge Knisely.

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Veteran Kahle Martin didn’t believe in the difference Veterans Court could make in his life and that of others….until he tried it.

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Veteran Jordan Mordhouse’s challenges threatened his marriage and relationships with his daughters—until he got help from Knisely’s veterans treatment court.

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Veterans Treatment courts help vets from all branches of the military, not only with the specific legal problem for which they’ve been arrested, but also with related problems suc

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The CAMO (Courts Assisting Military Offenders) court not only helped veteran Kahle Martin out of his legal problems. He says it also helped him grow up.

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Veterans who finish treatment court get a chance to graduate. Here, Judge Knisely congratulates Luis Campos for work well done.

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Judge Knisely calls her veterans treatment court the “single best experience” she’s had in about 30 years working in justice.

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Combat veterans are finding unique treatment for their challenges by fly-fishing on Montana rivers. Here a group of vets and their loved ones get professions tips on tying flies.

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We follow veteran Calvin Thomas and his wife on one of these life-changing journeys provided by Warriors and Quiet Waters.

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Veteran Marcus Wilson says fly-fishing changed his life and perspective in ways no drugs ever could.

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Veteran Marcus Wilson describes the way relationships forged while fly-fishing make a difference in the healing process.

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Warriors and Quiet Waters provides veterans and their families with professional gear and lessons that many continue to use upon returning home.

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Warriors and Quiet Waters provides veterans and their families with professional gear and lessons that many continue to use upon returning home.

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Warriors and Quiet Waters provides veterans and their families with professional gear and lessons that many continue to use upon returning home.

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Veteran Melissa Dwello found the adrenaline rush she craved after serving, doing extreme sports like river boarding in Alberton Gorge.

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Anton Johnson, a vet, is one of the heads and operations manager for Extreme Sports for Vets, a program that gives veterans a way to find the rush they crave in a safe, but exciti

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Steve Hale, a vet, is Director of Extreme Sports for Vets. He says it doesn’t seem like this approach would work, but it does.

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Veteran Dwello says her experience with XSports4Vets is a “total therapy” for her.

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Creators of Extreme Sports for Vets credit the combination of adrenaline and teamwork with a lot of the success of their program.

Additional Resources

A Special Thank You

Veterans Coming Home is a collaborative, multi-platform public media project between Wisconsin Public Television and Kindling Group in partnership with local stations and other national organizations. Veterans Coming Home is made possible with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.