Jan “Jay” Couch has spent 47 of his 66 years in and out of jail.
Now he carries a coin to remind him that he’s done with all that.
Couch graduated from Clark County Veterans Therapeutic Court on Wednesday.
He was the first to receive a new honor coin that all graduates will receive to remind them of what they’ve been through, as well as the importance of sticking to the law-abiding and sober habits they built through the court program.
Couch, who began drinking alcohol at a young age, took up methamphetamine after he ended a four-year stint in the Navy in 1970.
“I was pretty much a hell-raiser all my life. Veterans Court has put the slam dunk on that,” said Couch, a Vancouver resident.
District Court Judge Vernon Schreiber presented him with the honor coin designed by Derek Fuller, a U.S. Army sergeant medically evacuated from Iraq in 2008. Fuller recently completed his associate degree at Clark College, and he now attends Washington State University.
One side of the coin displays the seals of all five military branches. The other features Southwest Washington icons Mount St. Helens, Fort Vancouver and the Esther Short Park clock tower.
Schreiber invited Fuller to attend Wednesday’s ceremony. It was the first time the artist had a chance to hold and inspect the product of his design.
“It’s amazing to see months of hard work coming together,” said Fuller, a 32-year-old Vancouver resident.
“Thank you, brother,” Couch told him. “It’s a beautiful coin. It will be with me for always.”
Clark County is one of seven counties in Washington that offer a therapeutic court for veterans. Before Couch, 25 had graduated from the local program since its inception in 2011.
The program provides alternative treatment and sentencing for veterans arrested on misdemeanor charges who have trouble with substance abuse or mental illness.
The veterans receive help from court staff, law enforcement officers, peer mentors, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and treatment professionals over the course of at least a year.
“While a lot of us have been able to sit in the comfort of our living rooms … people have voluntarily taken time out of their lives to defend this country,” Schreiber said.
Veterans court gives vets a chance “to address issues those of us who have never been in that situation can never understand,” he added.
Schreiber would like to see the veterans court program grow. About 25 are enrolled, but the program has capacity for 50.
The program costs a few thousand dollars per participant, but saves much more by keeping veterans who make mistakes from revolving through jail and court, Schreiber said.
He sees the difference the program makes in their eyes. That’s why, in addition to a certificate and now a coin, Schreiber gives graduates a printout of all their previous booking photos.
“The changes in the faces,” he said, “are amazing.”
