Veterans and Incarceration

As we honored our Veterans this week, I thought of the many veterans groups we have in our prisons. According the the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the numbers of incarcerated veterans have declined.  However, many of those who risked their life to preserve our values return home with mental health issues, homeless, unemployed, and these factors often lead to imprisonment. Some of the problems are reported in:  The Justice Policy Institute,
The Armed Forces and Society,   and

Psychiatric Services.  Health Status, Service Use, and Costs Among Veterans Receiving Outreach Services in Jail or Community Settings

 A useful guide for veterans is: 
A Guide book for Incarcerated Veterans:

Prison Library Projects

There is no limit to what you can do when you work in a prison library. You only need the drive, the imagination, and the willingness not to give up when the prison adminsitration toss roadblocks. Mary Stevanus, our librarian at MCIH has been an energetic program implementer in the library. Recent news of a Veteran's project she initiated was in the local newspaper, The Herald