FARMINGTON — Deputy Chief Jim Minkowsky of the Lewiston Police Department plans to share parts of his story as an Iraq combat veteran and a local police officer during a conference session on veterans interaction with law enforcement.

The free conference, Bringing Worlds Together, for military veterans, their families and community members, is planned from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in Olsen Center at the University of Maine at Farmington. 

Laurie Cyr-Martel of Tri County Mental Health will join Minkowsky in leading the session, one of nine offered, he said.

A Lewiston officer for 24 years, Minkowsky joined the Navy at age 35 and deployed for a year tour in Iraq under the special operations command, he said last week at a conference planning session at Tri County Mental Health in Farmington.

The combat military experience parallels with his law enforcement work, he said of the chain of commands and rank structure.

He’s not alone. A third of his department is either in active duty or are veterans. It helps them understand as they encounter and deal with veterans from all conflicts dating back to World War II, he said.

“We’ve been there,” he said. “Each person is unique but there’s a basic understanding related to their situation.”

Many, including transients, have a fear or mistrust of police who are there to address the crisis, he said. When they realize the veteran connection with the officer, it helps the officers make further connections for them with the VA, Veterans Center or Tri-County.

“Knowledge is power,” he said. The conference provides information on the resources available for not only the veteran but also their family and friends.  It’s information they can pass on to others.

“There’s help at home; just ask,” he said.

There are an estimated 150,000 veterans in Maine.

Reaching out and educating Maine’s estimated 11,000 women veterans on the services available for them is part of the work done by LaRhonda Harris, Veteran Administration-women veterans program manager.

“Women don’t acknowledge themselves as vets,” she said last week. “They think they need to be deployed” to be a veteran.

She said she often hears, “‘I just served three years, as a clerk or secretary'” or “‘I served in Texas,'” she said.

Harris will facilitate a panel session on serving older veterans.

Last year’s conference provided great connections, she said. Community partners worked together to provide sessions ranging from legal issues to reintegrating into family and community life to dealing with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress.

The conference is hosted by Tri-County Mental Health Services with support from the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, AmeriCorps VISTA and other community volunteers. UMF provides free space for the conference, Harris said.

Maine first lady Ann LePage will open the daylong conference and featured speakers include Cindy Williams, Veterans Integrated Service Network lead women veterans program manager, and Col. Jack Mosher, chief of staff of the Maine National Guard.

A group of volunteers from various agencies, including Tri-County, New Beginnings Youth Outreach, the VA, Beacon Hospice, the Vet Center and AmeriCorps VISTA, have worked for nearly six months to plan for the day.

Jerry DeWitt, a veteran and VISTA volunteer, has again led the outreach and conference planning.

“This conference will show the many paths each of us might take to find our way back home from service life to civilian life,” he said in a release.

For more information or to register, visit www.tcmhs.org or call DeWitt at 783-9141, ext. 228.

Travel expense scholarships are available through Veterans For Peace. Contact Doug Rawlings at 778-7292 or rawlings@maine.edu

abryant@sunjournal.com

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