VETERANS TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM LOOKS TO EXPAND TO FEDERAL CASES

TAMPA, Fla. — A Veterans Treatment Court program is working toward an expansion that would assist veterans facing federal offenses, after years of serving veterans with state-level misdemeanor and felony cases.

Tampa’s Veterans Treatment Court started in 2013 and is among over 600 Veterans Treatment Courts across the United States that handle state-level cases. DJ Reyes, founder of the Tampa VTC Veteran Mentor Program, said the court is focused on treatment and rehabilitation for veterans involved in the justice system.

“This court is not one of punishment,” Reyes said. “It really is identifying and treating, and rehabilitating certain conditions that many of our veterans have suffered.”

Reyes said the success of Tampa’s Veterans Treatment Court helped lead to a pilot program for federal offenses that began in 2023. He said the program is now in the final stages of approval for the U.S. Middle District of Florida.

“Not only will veterans who get in trouble with the law at the state level find remedies in a state VTC,” Reyes said. “Now those veterans with select federal offenses may also be eligible to find themselves in a federal-level veterans treatment court with a mentor program.”

Reyes said he hopes the federal treatment court will begin in 2027.

For Army veteran David Silva, the program changed the course of his life after a difficult transition from military service. Silva served for more than a decade and said he struggled after returning home.

“I dealt with it in different ways of drinking... instead of asking for counseling,” Silva said.

Silva said he had trouble keeping a job for more than a few months. He later became involved in a fight with Hillsborough County deputies after hearing a loud police radio outside his home.

“I was facing five years per deputy that I put my hands on,” Silva said.

Silva said the case led him to Veterans Treatment Court, where he entered treatment and learned about benefits available to him.

“I signed a contract saying that I need to go through treatment, and that’s when my life changed,” Silva said. “Now I have the hospital with benefits that I didn’t even know that I had.”

Silva said he supports expanding Veterans Treatment Court programs and encouraged other veterans who are struggling to consider the support available through the court.

“You’re going to be able to have a relationship,” Silva said. “You’re going to be able to hold a job. You’re going to be able to sleep.”

Reyes said efforts are also underway to bring Veterans Treatment Courts to the Seminole Nation of Florida.

There are 34 Veterans Treatment Courts in Florida, and more than 750 veterans participated in the program statewide during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

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