Many veterans return from war struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other challenges, but that doesn’t mean they can’t return to a normal life. Many have found successful careers – some after turning to a local program that helps them thrive.
"When I'm looking at resumes, I know what that means to be of service to your country and I know what it means about your maturity and I think that's something I look for in young prosecutors and people I bring on in support staff," Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.
Prosecutor Kelly McGann spent time in Iraq, Honduras and Afghanistan before becoming a lawyer.
"This job has been a good fit at this point,” McGann said. “It's very challenging, and I think there's a unity there that kind of makes it feel a little bit like being in the military again."
The Serving Together program at the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County aims to help those who've served transition back to normal life.
Army National Guard veteran Ernie Spycher is a family peer navigator who uses his experience coming home after a one year deployment to Iraq to help.
"Get into school, finish school, find a new job, find a new home,” he said. “These are all things that we've done here.”
Serving Together’s CEO said the University of Maryland has evaluated the program through surveys and found that it is working.
