On Feb. 24, the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services received the 2020 Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award for Innovative State Programs from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a news release from Melissa Willette, director of communications, Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services in Augusta.

Since 2011, the VA has recognized its state partners for programs and initiatives that support veterans in their respective states. The award was presented to MBVS Director David A. Richmond by VA Secretary Robert Wilkie at the 2020 National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs Mid-Winter Conference held in Alexandria, Virginia.

This year’s award is in recognition of the Bureau’s creation of the Maine Justice Action Committee, which connects incarcerated veterans and veteran corrections staff to needed services. This is the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services third consecutive Pillar of Excellence Award, having been recognized previously for its veteran suicide prevention efforts in 2018, and work to end veteran homelessness in 2019.

In March 2019, the bureau co-founded the justice action committee with the Maine Department of Corrections Veterans’ Pod staff, VA Incarcerated Veterans Coordinator, VA Veteran Justice Outreach Specialist, Easterseals Maine, and Preble Street.  The committee had three goals: Improve communications between agencies; standardize intake procedures for veterans who are justice involved; and utilize Skype technology to improve incarcerated veterans’ access to MBVS’ Veterans Service Officers.

“This is fantastic news,” said Randall Liberty, commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections. “Agencies across Maine continue to work together in order to connect veterans with valuable resources, and I couldn’t be happier with the collaboration that’s happening on behalf of Maine veterans,” according to the release.

The justice action committee quickly expanded to include new members and started to collaborate with the Maine Correctional Center, Southern Maine Women’s Re-entry Center, Mountain View Correctional Facility, Bolduc Correctional Facility, Maine Coastal Regional Re-Entry Center, the Penobscot Nation Judicial System’s Healing to Wellness Court, Wabanaki Health and Wellness, the Maine Department of Labor and its Career Centers, Veterans’ Treatment Court, Veteran Mentors of Maine, Veterans Upward Bound, Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans’ Education Programs, the Small Business Association of Maine, the Maine Prisoner Re-Entry Network, Destination Occupation, K-9s on the Frontlines, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department and its Veterans’ Pod, and the Maine Arts Commission.

According to the release, interactions with these additional agencies led to the creation of a welcome packet for new veteran hires at the Maine Department of Corrections, re-entry resource fairs for incarcerated veterans and corrections staff, the updating and sharing of a master list identifying businesses willing to hire ex-felons to help improve their transition back into the workforce; connection made between Veterans’ Treatment Court and the Penobscot Nation Judicial System’s Healing to Wellness Court for Native American Veteran referrals, introduction to VA Veteran Justice Outreach Specialists, and an invitation to participate in 2020 court trainings; the creation of a K-9 companion training program at the Southern Maine Women’s Re-entry Center; discussions of ways to improve the re-entry process back into the community and the creation of apprenticeship programs for veteran inmates; the Veterans’ Writing Group at the Kennebec County Jail which led to submissions of poetry and short stories to the PEN 2019 Prison Writing Contest and one inmate/veterans’ artwork being chosen by the Maine Arts Commission to be hung in the 2019 Veterans’ Art Show, and ongoing discussions to create tiny houses for homeless veterans through the MDOC’s building construction and furniture making programs.

With six field offices located across the state, and a claims office at the VA Maine Healthcare System at Togus, Veteran Service Officers stand ready to connect with veterans from all branches and every period of service. MBVS is committed to serving our veteran population in the most efficient and respectful manner possible, and MJAC is another resource connecting Maine veterans to needed services.

For more information on the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services, or to contact the Veteran Service Office nearest you,  visit maine.gov/veterans/ or call 430-6035.