Veterans

Thank you for your service, and welcome home!

  Location:
Citizens Center
10 Welcome Street
2nd Floor
Haverhill, MA 01830

Office Hours:
Monday- Friday 8am-4pm*
Fridays 8am-4pm are reserved for VA benefit inquiries only
*We recommend calling ahead for an appointment when possible.


Director:
Jeffrey Hollett
(978) 374-2351 ext-  3932
jhollett@cityofhaverhill.com

Principal Clerk:
Betty Burnell
(978) 374-2351 ext- 3910
Fax (978) 521-2626
bburnell@cityofhaverhill.com
 

Transportation: is offered to eligible Haverhill residents to the following VA Hospitals by appointment only. Destination: Jamaica Plains, West Roxbury, Bedford VA Hospital and Lowell VA Clinic. Call Betty Burnell @ 978) 978-374-2351 ext-3910 for appointments. 

Services

You served us, now let us serve you. Never leave a veteran behind.

The Veterans' Services office within the City of Haverhill offers qualified veterans and their family members assistance with the following services:

Chapter 115 eligibility and application, see if you're eligible here
Veterans Affairs Claims
State of MA Welcome Home Bonus Application
State of MA Burial Assistance
State of MA Annuity Application Assistance
Transportation to certain VA Hospitals 
Employment Counseling
Retrieving Discharge Documents and Military Records

The city of Haverhill recognizes and deeply appreciates the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families. Our office strives to advise, engage, and advocate for veterans, active duty, Reserve and National Guard members.

Chapter 115 Benefits

Eligibility for Financial Assistance under MGL CH115

A benefit designed to help Massachusetts veterans and their families who fall below certain income and asset limits. For a quick check of your eligibility, and to learn more about the Chapter 115 benefit, please use the calculator here.

How to Apply

Applications for Chapter 115 Public Assistance benefits can be filed at the veterans office Mon- Fri 8am - 4pm, excluding holidays, at the Haverhill Citizens Center, 10 Welcome St. We recommend calling first for an appointment at 978-374-2351, or emailing lsantiago@cityofhaverhill.com.  

More information can be found below, and by visiting the State of Massachusetts Website at:

https://www.mass.gov/orgs/executive-office-of-veterans-services

To be eligible for veterans' benefits, one must be a "veteran" or a "dependent" of a veteran under M.G.L. c. 4, sec. 7, cl. 43rd as amended by the Acts of 2005, ch. 130. See below for service requirements and exceptions.

*Naval and Marine DD214 must indicate Expeditionary Medal. All DD214's must specify campaign: Lebanon, Granada, or Panama. 

• For GUARD MEMBERS to qualify they must have 180 days and have been activated under Title 10 of the U.S. Code -OR- Members who were activated under Title 10 or Title 32 of the U.S. Code or Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 33, sections 38, 40, and 41 must have 90 days, at least one of which was during wartime, per the above chart.
• For RESERVISTS to qualify, they must have been called to regular active duty, at which point their eligibility can be determined by the above chart.

Training Duty Exception

Active duty service in the armed forces shall not include active duty for training in the Army or Air National Guard or active duty for training as a Reservist in the Armed Forces of the United States.

Minimum Active Service Exception (Purple Heart or Service-Connected Disability or Death)

Wartime Service

If his or her last discharge or release from wartime service was under honorable conditions, then a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States under Title 10 of the United States Code during 1 day of wartime service or a person on full time Massachusetts National Guard duty under Title 32 of the United States Code during at least 1 day of wartime service or a person on full time Massachusetts National Guard duty under sections 38, 40 and 41 of chapter 33 of the general laws during at least 1 day of wartime service, who sustained a service-connected disability during such wartime service or was awarded the Purple Heart during such wartime service or who died during such wartime service under conditions other than dishonorable, is excused from completing the 90-day active service requirement during such wartime service.

Peacetime

If his or her last discharge or release from active service was under honorable conditions, then a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States under Title 10 of the United States Code during peacetime, who sustained a service-connected disability while on active duty during peacetime or who died on active duty during peacetime under conditions other than dishonorable, is excused from completing the 180-day active service requirement during peacetime.

This chart can also be viewed as a PDF  or a Word  document.

Eligible Dependents

The following categories of persons may qualify as dependents eligible to receive veterans' benefits.

• Spouse of the veteran.
• Widow or widower of the veteran.
• Dependent parent of the veteran.
• Any person who acted as a parent to the veteran for five years immediately preceding the commencement of the veteran's wartime service.
• Child of the veteran until his or her 19th birthday.
• Child of the veteran between 19 years and 23 years of age while the child is attending high school, an institution of higher learning or some other accredited educational institution provided that the applicant is in receipt of benefits under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 115.
• Child of the veteran 19 years of age or older who is mentally or physically unable to support himself or herself and was affected by the disability prior to his or her 18th birthday.
• Legally adopted children of the veteran.

Who is NOT eligible?

None of the following shall be deemed to be a veteran:

• Any person, who at the time of entering into the armed forces of the United States, had declared his/her intention to become a subject or citizen of the United States and withdrew his/her intention under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918.
• Any person who was discharged from the said armed forces on his/her own application or solicitation by reason of his/her being an enemy alien.
• Any person who has been proved guilty of willful desertion.
• Any person whose only service in the armed forces of the United States consists of his/her service as a member of the Coast Guard auxiliary or as a temporary member of the Coast Guard Reserve, or both.
• Any person whose last discharge or release from the armed forces is dishonorable.