The annual Memorial Day Service will take place Monday, May 25, at 11 am at the Veterans Memorial at Edgewood/Greenwood Cemetery, located at 141 S. Edgewood Drive in Apopka.
The ceremony is intended to recognize and remember fallen military heroes through reflection, prayer, and community remembrance as residents pause during the national holiday to honor those who died while serving in the armed forces.
Following the ceremony, the public is invited to continue the gathering at the VFW Post 10147/Apopka Community Center, located at 519 S. Central Avenue. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served immediately after the event, prepared by Boy Scout Troop 211.
The Memorial Day observance is one of several ceremonies taking place across Central Florida during the holiday weekend, but Apopka’s annual service has long been a focal point for local veterans, families, civic leaders, and residents who wish to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Additional information about the event and other city activities can be found through the City of Apopka Events Page.
About 8% of all Americans in prisons or jails are veterans, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank. Veterans end up incarcerated largely because of substance use and mental health disorders, both of which also contribute to homelessness.
For more than 15 years, one tool for helping veterans break out of addiction has been Veterans Treatment Courts. These programs help veterans accused of or convicted of crimes address the challenges that drive their involvement in the criminal legal system.
Veterans Treatment Courts require a dedicated clinician and need to provide access to counseling, housing support and other social services to meet veterans’ needs. For this, they must have funding from the government. As a legal scholar studying the use of criminal law to aid veterans, my research shows that these programs, which exist in every state except Connecticut and Vermont, can be very effective. But they only work when they have the staffing and the resources to support veterans’ complex needs.
However, since 2025, massive staffing losses at the Department of Veteran Affairs as well as cuts to publicly funded healthcare such as Medicaid and Medicare, which are widely used by veterans, are making it harder for veterans to access healthcare.
What are Veterans Treatment Courts?
Veterans Treatment Courts are a subset of the drug treatment courts that were created by judges and criminal legal reformers beginning in 1988. These courts are an alternative to jail for people arrested or convicted for crimes that may be related to substance use disorders.
The idea was to allow courts to address the root causes of criminal behavior rather than simply punish people who committed crimes. Specialized treatment courts were soon developed to provide support for specific issues, such as mental health, or to groups accused of specific crimes, such as sex work.
Veterans treatment courts aim to help people address the underlying issues that lead them to commit crimes.
In 2008, a judge in Buffalo recognized that veterans in his drug treatment court would benefit from support from other veterans and the comprehensive services from the VA. So he launched a distinct program just for veterans that soon received national media attention. Veterans Treatment Courts now operate in over 745 courthouses.
Eligibility varies across courts, but typically requires that the person have served in the military and that the crime they committed is not considered so serious that it deserves incarceration. While these programs are funded through a variety of sources, such as local and state governments, the federal government offers tens of millions of dollars every year for local courthouses to set up Veterans Treatment Courts.
Veterans Treatment Courts have a variety of requirements for participants. Once admitted to the program, participants must attend a hearing where they talk to the judge about how they are doing. They must also take drug tests and attend therapy appointments. They may also have to show that they have stable housing and employment and that they have performed community service or engaged in other activities that indicate they are connected to their communities and therefore at lower risk for substance use or criminal behavior.
If participants meet program requirements, they graduate. Graduation usually means some sort of legal benefit, such as dropped charges and fines or the termination of probation.
Resources are key to success
Advocates suggest that Veterans Treatment Courts are more effective than jail or prison in preventing people from committing new crimes, and that treatment courts in general cost less than incarceration. But studies on whether they help veterans more than alternatives such as drug treatment courts or a regular criminal court have been inconclusive.
My research shows that treatment courts, in general, are most effective if they have dedicated staff and access to services to address substance use as well as housing insecurity. That level of support is exactly what the VA provides.
Veterans with VA benefits not only receive outpatient and inpatient substance use treatment, but they are able to access federally funded education and housing support unavailable to most U.S. citizens. Even Veterans Treatment Court participants who are ineligible for VA healthcare benefit from the unique levels of public support and state-funded programs for veterans in the U.S.
All this gives Veterans Treatment Courts the resources to help their participants more than other treatment courts or regular criminal courts can.
There’s a strong connection between veteran homelessness and incarceration. Spencer Platt/Getty Images News
A program under threat
Recognizing the connection between veteran homelessness and incarceration, the federal government has put millions of dollars into the VA to help veterans in the criminal legal system. Congress annually authorizes tens of millions of dollars to support VA clinicians working in Veterans Treatment Courts. In January 2026, Congress even created a new center dedicated to this goal.
However, despite this support, cuts to healthcare that is delivered by VA providers, as well as to publicly funded healthcare such as Medicaid and Medicare, present numerous challenges for Veterans Treatment Courts. Tens of thousands of VA employees have left the agency since President Donald Trump took office. This has lead to staffing shortages that undermine care for all veterans.
Staff stability is especially important for these programs’ viability and success. My research shows that funding cuts lead to high turnover and low morale. When the Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice canceling US$2 billion in funding in January 2026, treatment courts were scrambling to figure out how to staff their programs. Though this money was restored, the cancellation showed treatment court staff that their work could end without warning.
Given that the country’s criminal legal system is already overburdened, enabling Veterans Treatment Courts to do their vital work does more than help veterans. In my view, this program also models how comprehensive social services can help people struggling with substance use disorders, mental health problems, housing insecurity, and other challenges.
As people recover from past wars and return from ongoing conflicts, they will need the country’s continued investment to reintegrate and thrive.
Key Points:
- Veterans Treatment Courts operate in every state except Connecticut and Vermont.
- The programs focus on treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration for eligible veterans.
- More than 8% of Americans in prisons or jails are veterans, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
- Researchers say stable staffing and access to healthcare, housing, and counseling services are critical to the courts’ success.
- Concerns are growing that staffing losses at the VA and broader healthcare funding cuts could weaken support systems for veterans.
This article has been corrected to specify that VA funding cuts were related to staffing and delivery of healthcare services.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
