A Mentor Coordinator's Perspective

• In Event: Policy Panel: Theoretical and Practical Issues Facing Veterans Treatment Courts and Those in Contact with Them

Abstract

Christopher Araujo is the Austin/Travis County Peer Services Coordinator for the Military Veteran Peer Network (MVPN) and serves on the Travis County Veterans Treatment Court team as the mentor program coordinator. He is a trained/certified peer support specialist through MVPN, veteran peer support group facilitator through Bring Everyone in the Zone, Peer Services Coordinator by the Texas Veterans Commission. He has also received Mental Health First Aid and Assist Suicide Prevention training.
Christopher advocates for veteran mental health, training, and support. He was instrumental in establishing, with the partnership of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Reentry Division, the first veteran’s reentry dorm in the state of Texas at the Travis State Jail. Through the efforts of this project, Christopher and his team have received the TDCJ POP Mental Health Award, The Governor’s Volunteer Award, and the Travis County Vision Award. Christopher assists the Austin Police Departments (APD) Crisis Intervention Team during veteran crisis response, conducts a block of instruction with APD Cadets on veteran resources and PTSD, and trains multiple government entities, colleges, and veteran service organizations on Military Informed Care. Christopher has been called as an expert witness on PTSD and Veteran resources in criminal trials involving Veterans with mental health issues and has testified in front of both the Texas State Senate’s Veterans Affairs and Military Installations Committee and Texas State House Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee on veteran mental health programs. He has participated on many community panels and summits concerning veterans’ affairs and is currently a committee member of the Community Advancement Network Community Council as the veteran expert. Christopher spent 15 years in the U.S. Army as an Indirect Fire Infantryman and has deployed multiple times in Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

Author

• Christopher Araujo, Military Veteran Peer Network (MVPN)