Casey Frank’s Story

Casey felt kinship with those who served in the military, ever since marching in solidarity with “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” decades ago. After 9/11, since he had become a trial lawyer, and as deployments to the Middle East stressed Colorado military families, he offered his pro bono help to Family Services at Fort Carson, an army base which had the largest deployments overseas since WWII.

For 15 years he helped active-duty servicemembers for free with complex civil issues that involved court proceedings. The last such representation was for an Army recruiter with sole custody of five children under the age of ten. That lasted for nine years, through many hearings, mediations, and interventions. Around a decade ago he switched to the walk-in clinics.

The 370,000 military veterans in Colorado are much more likely to be disabled or commit suicide, and are older and sicker than other citizens. Over 60,000 suffer from diagnosed PTSD, which severely reduces their ability to solve problems without special attention.

That is why Casey got certified in Mental Health First Aid through Wellpower, and has also taken the VA suicide prevention training called S.A.V.E. He cherishes working with veterans, not because he supports, or opposes, America’s foreign wars, but because we all benefit from their protection of this land of plenty, while veterans are too often left behind, disproportionately hurt as a result of their service. This is especially true of those who walk-in to the free clinics.

Casey being interviewed on air, as hundreds of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, wearing jungle fatigues, and a large supporting coalition of community groups, marched together in the Memorial Day Parade in Rochester NY. The respectful tone is shown by the sign in back: “We honor the dead of past wars by working to prevent the next.”