Creating a special court for veterans who run afoul of the law is among the steps local authorities can take to repay society’s debt to men and women who have served their country, veterans advocates said Friday.

The Northwest Ohio Justice-Involved Veteran Summit met Friday to discuss the difficulties veterans face returning to civilian life, including run-ins with the criminal justice system.

Summit participants lauded creation of a veterans docket in the courts, which would provide additional services for veterans and educate officers and judges about common veterans’ struggles, including mental health issues.

Robert McDivitt, director of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, said a veterans court is slated to begin Jan. 1 in Toledo Municipal Court. It will be a separate docket with veteran mentors and a team of social workers to work with the courts and law enforcement, working to give veterans “a second chance.”

“I’ve heard a lot of compelling stories of veterans who would be in jail or worse” without services, Mr. McDivitt said.

According to the Ohio Department of Veterans Services, more than a dozen such courts exist around the state. Part of the solution is understanding how to treat recent and aging veterans for their experiences in combat.

“Most of the veterans that enter the criminal justice system had no criminal record before they went overseas,” retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, who gave the keynote address, said before the summit. “They come back traumatized.”

Justice Stratton, who comes from a military family, said she first learned about veterans courts through her work with mental health and drug courts, which operate in a similar manner.

“It made me realize they need to have a different kind of treatment that gets to the root,” she said. “They don’t want to seek treatment, they self-medicate, they have flashbacks, they can’t deal with the reality of civilian life. I think because they received these damages defending our country, we have a special obligation to help them.”

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said it’s important to ensure veterans have access to the best medical care in the country, including mental health care.

“That’s what the nation promised them, from the time of Lincoln — that we would care for them and their families and their orphans.”

“I’ve been fighting on this from when I was first elected and it has been really hard,” she said. “Soldiers are strong, they’re brave, they don’t get sick, they don’t have issues. That’s how they’re trained.”

She said it was easier to get federal money for spinal cord injuries than psychological issues and brain injuries because spinal cord injuries were visible injuries.

Miss Kaptur said 75 permanent supportive housing units available to veterans, many of whom were homeless, will be dedicated next spring. The units will be near the Toledo VA Outpatient Clinic.

At the summit, area veterans spoke about their experiences returning to civilian life.

Shelly Ledyard of Wauseon, a sergeant in the Marine Corps, said she also had trouble adjusting.

“I miss the camaraderie and sense I belong,” she said of her time deployed. She said she knew she was changing but didn’t know how much until she returned in 2008 from seven months in Iraq. “My house didn’t smell right or look right. It’s hard to ask for help, but I’m learning.”

The event was co-sponsored by the University of Toledo College of Law and the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Contact Lauren Lindstrom at: llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.

First Published October 25, 2014, 4:00 a.m.