Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton Joins Volunteers of America
Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, who formerly served 16 years on the Ohio Supreme Court and is a leader on veteran justice issues, has joined Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio as an advisor on veterans courts and other justice and mental health issues involving veterans.
“Eve has proven herself a leader, a collaborator, a creative thinker and problem solver throughout her decades-long career,” says Dennis Kresak, president and CEO of Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio. “Her insight and support will bring great value to the continuous expansion of Volunteers of America’s services to homeless and at-risk veterans.”
During her career, Stratton formed The Supreme Court of Ohio Advisory Committee on Mental Illness & the Courts and nationally and was the co-founder of the Judges’ Leadership Initiative, a professional association that supports cooperative mental health programs in the criminal justice system. Most recently, she has focused on veterans issues – establishing veterans courts and legal aid programs to assist Ohio veterans and active duty service members with post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues, whose problems have led to involvement with the criminal justice system.
Stratton’s understanding of the myriad issues veterans face and her unique knowledge and experience in developing justice solutions for those dealing with mental health issues and veterans involved in the justice system make her an ideal partner in Volunteers of America’s fight to end veteran homelessness.
“So many veterans tell stories of falling through the cracks. Mental health and legal problems make it that much harder to get jobs and ultimately, their lives back. By bringing together all resources and looking at different ways to solve problems, we can begin to eliminate barriers – to jobs, to housing, to meaningful lives. We can provide the type of timely, compassionate, high quality help these veterans have earned,” says Dennis Kresak, Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio president and CEO. “With Eve’s veterans and justice system expertise, adding her to our team just makes sense.”
“Joining forces with Volunteers of America to further develop solutions to help veterans escape the ‘revolving door’ of the criminal justice system and homelessness is a project I’m excited to pursue,” said Stratton. “We know that collaborative approaches to veterans treatment and care produce results and ultimately benefit both veterans and the communities where they live. Volunteers of America has the resources and the experience to ensure veterans have the support they need to regain their footing.”
Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio serves 1,750 veterans each year by providing housing, supportive case management, financial literacy education, job training, employment services and integrated case management to reduce the time spent in the hospital in the metro areas of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton. Nationally, Volunteers of America serves more than 10,000 homeless veterans through 35 programs in 15 states.