Independence Township Supervisor Pat Kittle made his way to Summit Place Kia in Clinton Township on Tuesday. Aug. 16, in order to accept a $140,000 check from LaLonde Charities on behalf of the Friends of the North Oakland County Veterans’ Treatment Court. (NOCVTC).
That check will be split between NOCVTC and the Friends of the Macomb County Veterans’ Treatment Court
Kittle is the president of NOCVTC, a non-profit organization, dedicated to assist the Veterans Treatment Court (51 District Court in Waterford) help struggling veterans assimilate back into civilian life by removing obstacles that are preventing the Veteran to stay focused on a healthy life style.
“They’re not looking for anything for free,” Kittle said. “All they want to do is to get back to a normal life, but between the stress, the anxiety, the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), the insomnia, the guilt of coming back and so many of those that they came up with in the ranks didn’t, it’s more than a lot of people can ever bear.”
Kittle’s son David was a U.S. Army veteran and fought in the infantry in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He was released in 2008, but according to Kittle, he and his wife couldn’t help their son “fight his demons.” David struggled with PTSD, which ultimately led to him taking his own life
“Being president of this program has been a great way for me to focus a lot of energy since my son’s death and to helping others and that’s a good thing,” Kittle added. “I wish this program would have been around when my son was alive.”
The money raised was at the LaLonde Charity Open golf outing held at Pine Knob Golf course back in July.
“The LaLonde Family are in my opinion true patriots for what they do and the time and effort they commit to all of those volunteers and mentors who selflessly step up with either writing checks or taking a phone call at 3 a.m. to go help a vet who is struggling,” Kittle said. “It’s just a great and it works. It absolutely saves lives. From a dollar and cents standpoint this is a far less expensive alternative than just throwing these guys in jail and throwing away the key.”
Kittle says he’d love to get another court involved.
“We’ve got the 51 District Court to handle those guys on the north side of the community,” he said. “It would be great if we could get a southern court, just from a logistics standpoint.”
For more information call 248-613-0830 visit www.nocvtc.com or find them on Facebook.