Delaware Veterans Coalition to meet Sept. 24

New Castle County Police Officer First Class Nick Hurst, who addressed the audience as the Green Alert Bill was signed into law Aug. 29, will serve as guest speaker at the bimonthly Delaware Veterans Coalition meeting at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 24, at FOP Lodge 3, 1584 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover.

The Green Alert program will aid in locating missing members of the armed forces, including veterans, who have a physical or mental health condition related to their service. The law is modeled after Delaware’s existing Gold, Amber and Blue Alert programs.

Hurst created a related Veterans Response Team to assist his fellow police officers, especially military veterans, in recognizing and working more effectively with people displaying symptoms of PTSD or other stress-related symptoms. Two combat tours as a Marine in Fallujah, Iraq, helped him understand the need to address those in crisis and help them to gain safety and to access available resources in the VA and the community.

The Veterans Response Team complements the New Castle County Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team by providing officers who have served in the military with an extra tool to reach fellow veterans in need. Hurst was one of four New Castle County police officers who attended veterans response training in North Carolina and shared their training with local agencies, including the Wilmington Police Department, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police Service in Elsmere, and the Delaware State Police.

The Delaware Veterans Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created in May 2011 to advocate with Delaware elected officials on issues that affect all generations of First State veterans. It meets bimonthly on the fourth Monday beginning each January. Membership is not required to attend meetings. All honorably discharged Delaware veterans are eligible to join.

Go to www.DelawareVeteransCoalition.com for more information or to download a membership application.