GREAT FALLS — Army veterans affiliated with Veterans’ Treatment Court are raising awareness and money for recovery at the Montana State Fair in Great Falls.
WATCH: Montana veterans share recovery stories at state fair
Among the carnival rides and deep-fried food at the Montana State Fair, a group of veterans is raising money and awareness for recovery through the Alliance for Youth's Rockin' 4 Recovery program. The group is holding raffles at its booth, which features rocking chairs.
Samuel Bengoa, a U.S. Army veteran and Veterans’ Treatment Court graduate, served in Iraq before returning home with serious challenges.
"When I came back from Iraq, I came back with a heavy drinking problem. My alcoholism was really bad because I had severe PTSD from the war. I acquired two traumatic brain injuries while I was in service," Bengoa said.
Nightmares and a criminal offense led Bengoa to Veterans’ Treatment Court, where he graduated July 14 after 16 months of hard work. The outpatient court-managed program holds participants accountable.
"You’ve got to make your appointments. Make your classes," Bengoa said.
"If you get what's known as a sanction or if you get in trouble through the courts, you have to write essays," Bengoa said.
Bengoa said vulnerability is also key to success in the program.
"You’ve got to be vulnerable, and you’ve got to open up to your providers and your counselors," Bengoa said.
Army veteran Bill Fredericks is also helping out at the booth, alongside his dog Jack, the Sober Life mascot. Fredericks, who has been sober for 3 years, now helps other veterans in the treatment court.
"My drinking and post-traumatic stress disorder kind of collided one night," Fredericks said.
Fredericks said success in the program comes down to attitude.
"If they come in with a positive attitude and not worry about what their crime was or whatever got them into that court, you need to understand they're not being punished for being here. They're here to get help and that's what they're getting," Fredericks said.
One of the veterans Fredericks has helped is Ben Rutherford, an Army mechanic who has been in the program for 5 months. Rutherford is using his time at the booth as a required service project and says the experience is helping him pursue reenlistment.
"I believe that it's a wiser choice for me. It's the structure that I like. It's an opportunity that I want, and it'll benefit me and my family. It's just the life that I love," Rutherford said.
Rutherford said the bond among veterans in the program is a source of strength.
"The military is a family. So we all back each other, and you're only as strong as your weakest link. So, we all make sure that we ain't weak and we're strong-minded," Rutherford said.
The Montana State Fair runs through Saturday, Aug. 1, at MontanaExpopark in Great Falls.
