Too many veterans come home from service only to face — alone — some of the highest rates of trauma, mental illness, addiction, homelessness and justice system involvement. They return not to stability, but to fragmentation.
An estimated 17 veterans take their lives each day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Roughly one in four veterans will have contact with the criminal justice system, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
These figures reflect men and women carrying the burdens of combat trauma, service-related injury and systemic gaps in care. In New Jersey, there is growing recognition that this crisis must be addressed through an organized clinical and reentry framework that begins before release and continues in the community.
Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, whose U.S Navy service and longstanding commitment to veterans have helped elevate this work, such services from NJRC, the New Jersey Reentry Corp., a Jersey City-based nonprofit, now begin behind the wall.
Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn, working with NJRC and Education & Health Centers of America, in January formalized a program that connects veterans to identification, benefits enrollment, clinical care, housing support, legal services and employment pathways — all before they leave custody.
Those efforts, in coordination with the New Jersey State Parole Board and its chairman, Sam Plumeri Jr., continue after release through referrals, supervision and linkage back to the reentry corporation.
That structure matters because we recognize a profound mental health crisis among veterans, particularly those suffering from combat trauma and acute post-traumatic stress disorder. We must also be candid: Unless veterans have access to trained, skilled clinical professionals on an ongoing basis, other services risk being undermined.
Housing, employment, access to benefits and legal assistance are essential. But for veterans experiencing psychiatric instability or episodic crises, clinically directed mental health treatment must be the foundation of the intervention. Without that base, stabilization is fragile and recovery uncertain.
A crucial advocate is Robert Cohen, who came home from Afghanistan and told his father that many of his fellow Marines were suffering and felt they had no meaningful help. His father, Steve Cohen, responded by helping to build the Cohen Veterans Network to expand access to dedicated, high-quality mental health care for veterans and military families.
In New Jersey, that commitment found a partner. Then-Gov. Chris Christie helped connect the Cohen Veterans Network with the New Jersey Reentry Corp., establishing a clinical network for veterans.
At the reentry corporation, our model is biopsychosocial and individualized. Using an assessment developed with Columbia University, our team identifies each veteran’s clinical, social, legal and economic needs to build a coordinated response.
We do so with a clear understanding. Mental health care is not one service among many. It is the platform on which every other service depends.
That is why New Jersey Reentry Corp. case managers coordinate directly with Cohen Veterans Network clinicians and schedule tele-mental-health appointments as part of case management. Telehealth is tracked and integrated into each veteran’s broader stabilization plan, aligned with work, training, court obligations and family responsibilities.
For veterans who require sustained therapy, including sessions following episodes of aggression or psychiatric instability, this partnership ensures continuity of care. The Cohen network provides skilled clinical treatment and the reentry corporation provides the framework of services and accountability.
Together they offer veterans a genuine chance to heal.
The New Jersey Reentry Corporation serves more than 1,700 veterans, many of whom endure complex, layered challenges. They’re offered psychiatric services, trauma-informed therapy, addiction treatment, housing stabilization, medical care coordination and workforce reintegration. Some veterans are comfortable engaging with the Veterans Administration; others are not. The reentry corporation ensures access to both VA and private providers, including acute care.
Experience has made one truth clear: Without consistent, clinically grounded mental health treatment, these supports cannot fully take hold.
The New Jersey Reentry Corp. veterans team engages at East Jersey State Prison and Fort Dix before release, building individualized reentry plans rooted in clinical and social stabilization. This is a system in which Corrections, the state Parole Board, nonprofit case management and clinical providers work together.
The principle is straightforward. For veterans in crisis, mental health care must come first.
