Who We Are
Our Mission
The Mission of The Warriors Trust Fund is to provide emergency funding and lifestyle support to and on behalf of Military Veterans who have honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces and National Guard.
The Warriors Trust Fund is a 501c3 organization established in 2015 to raise awareness and provide funding for the various needs of United States Armed Forces combat veterans, including, but not limited to Veterans associated with the Oakland Combat Veterans Treatment Court (C-VTC). The C-VTC was established in 2013 to assist with the successful completion of the conditions of probation those United States Military veterans whose behavior is a direct result of the combat, conflict, or search and rescue or recovery experiences. The program intends to change the lives of our military veterans through intense supervision, mental health and substance abuse treatment, readjustment counseling, and serves as an alternative to incarceration. The Warriors Trust Fund’s purpose is to assist those who have honorably served their country. In addition to supporting the C-VTC, the Warriors Trust Fund has expanded to the greater Combat Veteran community and now assists participants in the Veterans Treatment Court at the 45th District Court of Oak Park. Funds raised by the Warriors Trust Fund assist eligible participants in paying for mental health and substance abuse treatment, transitional housing, transportation, emergency living expenses, education expenses not covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, employment re-training and entrepreneurial development.
In 2008, Judge Robert Russell of the Buffalo, New York district court noticed an increase of Veterans standing before him on criminal charges. That year, Judge Russell established the country’s first Veterans Treatment Court. Since that time, more than 250 courts have been established across the country and currently, there are 22 in the State of Michigan. The Oakland County C-VTC is the only program in which participation is limited to defendants whose criminal activity is directly related to their military service. The Warriors Trust Fund services participants in the Oakland County C-VTC and 45th District VTC who have diagnoses of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or Military Sexual Trauma (MST).
As of September, 2014, there was an estimated 22 million veterans in the United States and approximately 624,000 of those Veterans residing in Michigan. In fiscal year 2012, only 40% of veterans utilized at least one VA service, up from 36% in 2005. The increase in use denotes a greater need for services, including housing, education, employment training and mental and physical health. The VA, however, has not been able to establish the percentage of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operating Iraqi Freedom (OIF) who utilize VA benefits as many servicemen and women have yet to return from deployment or to discharge from the military. The Warriors Trust Fund serves as another resource for veterans who may utilize VA benefits, but have more immediately needs.
The Warriors Trust Fund is an organization that was founded in direct response to the growing number of military Veterans requiring assistance. The Warriors Trust Fund focuses on those Veterans who have received Honorable, General (Under Honorable Conditions) and Medical discharges from a U.S. military branch of service. To date, the Warriors Trust Fund has assisted more than twenty veterans and their families through providing yoga classes at court, free transportation to court and medical appointments, and covering the costs of substance abuse testing, and substance abuse and/or mental health treatment not offered by the VA.
Fundraising
One-hundred percent of all funds raised goes towards supporting Combat Veterans in the criminal justice system.