District Court Senior Judge Halee F. Weinstein stands with William Shelton, one of the veterans honored Tuesday at Baltimore City District Court for completing a Veterans Treatment Court program there. Photo by William J. Ford.
Marine Corps veteran William Shelton, 66, admits it’s unusual to call a district court home, but he said that’s how he feels after graduating from the Veterans Treatment Court program in Baltimore City District Court.
“When I came to this court, I was a mess. I was basically Humpty Dumpty. This court has helped put Humpty back together,” Shelton said Tuesday, standing beside his wife, Deborah. “It sounds wild to say that coming to court is home, but this has been a place where I found family. I found relationships with other veterans.”
Shelton was speaking at a Baltimore City District Court program to celebrate the ninth anniversary, and the six most recent graduates, of the court’s voluntary program for veterans, which offers voluntary, court-supervised services such as treatment for drug and substance abuse, mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder.