COVID-19 To find news on upcoming openings and happenings in the City of Woburn please click here.
The DAV is currently accepting applications for aid through our COVID-19 Unemployment Relief program. Our goal is to raise $2.5 million to help veterans in urgent need due to this crisis. If you’d like to support DAV’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, please make a special gift today
If you are a veteran who has lost employment due to COVID-19, you can learn more and apply at dav.org/covidrelief.
Our COVID-19 Unemployment Relief program was established to provide assistance to service-connected disabled veterans who have lost employment as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including veterans who are self-employed as contractors or small business owners. This critical aid is meant to help veterans pay bills, obtain food and provide for their families during this challenging time.
Please help us spread the word to any veterans you know who may be eligible. We are hoping to help as many veterans in need as possible, and this relief will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
DAV will also continue to sponsor virtual job fairs to connect veterans with employers on a local and national level — learn more at jobs.dav.org.
If you need assistance with VA claims or any other information about your veterans benefits, please visit benefitsquestions.org to get in touch with a DAV benefits counselor. You can also speak to a service officer Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST by calling 1-888-604-0234.
Marc Burgess
DAV National Adjutant/CEO
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VA U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Main website
Chapter 115 Benefits Program
The Chapter 115 Benefits Program is run by the Massachusetts Department Veterans’ Services (DVS). DVS runs the program in partnership with local Veterans’ Service Officers (VSOs). The Program provides financial aid for food, shelter/housing, clothing, and medical care to veterans and their dependents who have limited incomes.
The Aid and Attendance Benefit
This benefit is a monetary benefit that helps eligible veterans and their surviving spouses (widows / widowers) to pay for the assistance they need in everyday functioning (eating, bathing, dressing, and medication management).
Readers should know that the A&A benefit is often referred to by other names. One will sometimes hear the names “improved pension”, “VA assisted living benefit” or “veterans elder care benefits”. These are various names for the same program, which, as mentioned before, is an additional benefit added to the basic VA pension.
VA Boston Health Care System
Veterans can receive health care services from a number of local VA Medical Facilities. Applications are filled out and sent to the desired facility’s eligibility office. Inpatient, outpatient, dental, pharmacy, prosthetic, women’s health services and many others can be received through the VA Health Care System.
Education Benefits
Various education benefits are available to veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as programs specific to Massachusetts.
For students, school administrators and the GI Bill – U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Education and Training. Applications and information for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Tuition Waivers for Massachusetts Veterans.
Additional information about financial assistance for service members and veterans can be found at http://www.bestcolleges.com/financial-aid/military/
College Resources for Veterans and their families
Other programs are provided in the Woburn Veterans’ Services Office.
- Form 21-1990 – Application for VA Education Benefits.
- Form 22-1999 – Certificate of Affirmation of Enrollment Agreement Correspondence Course.
- Dependents Education Assistance Program – for survivors and dependents of 100% disabled veterans. View and Download Application Here: VA Form 22-5490. (Bring this completed form to your school’s bursar’s office)
- Scholorships for Veterans & Their Families. – A guide to outline why veteran scholarships are valuable, providing a breakdown of scholarships by state, includes where to find additional scholarship money and also includes an interview with an expert in the field.
Employment & Training Information
Additional Programs
Information regarding all State and Federal Programs related to veterans can be sought through the Woburn Veterans’ Services Department. Massachusetts is at the forefront of veterans’ benefits and offers a vast array of benefits and services such as tax exemptions, education programs, bonuses and annuities, employment opportunities, and housing options. Applications are available for VA programs such as Home Loans, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, and Life Insurance.
- Life Insurance – As part of the VA’s mission to serve Service members, Veterans, and their families, VA provides valuable life insurance benefits to give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your family is protected. VA’s life insurance programs were developed to provide financial security for your family given the extraordinary risks involved in military service.
- VA Form 26-1880 – Home Loan Request for a Certificate of Eligibility.
- U.S Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loans – VA helps Service members, Veterans, and eligible surviving spouses become homeowners. VA Home Loans are provided by private lenders, such as banks and mortgage companies. VA guarantees a portion of the loan, enabling the lender to provide you with more favorable terms. Regional Loan Center Contact Information.
- VASH Voucher Program – Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing. If you need housing assistance, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET.
Federal
- VA Burn Pit Registry – OEF/OIF/OND or 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans and Service members can use the registry questionnaire to report exposures to airborne hazards (such as smoke from burn pits, oil-well fires, or pollution during deployment), as well as other exposures and health concerns. Questions related to the registry click here.
State
- Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services – Massachusetts is at the forefront of veterans’ benefits and offers a vast array of benefits and services such as tax exemptions, education programs, bonuses and annuities, employment opportunities, and housing options.
- Guide to Massachusetts Veteran’s Laws and Benefits
- Definition of a Massachusetts Veteran – M.G.L. c. 4, sec. 7, cl. 43rd as amended by the Acts of 2005, ch. 130
- Massachusetts Attorney General – The Attorney General’s Office enforces certain federal and state laws protecting the rights of veterans and service members. If you are a veteran or are currently serving in the United States Military, including the National Guard or Reserves, there are laws designed to protect you against discrimination in employment, help you avoid credit or foreclosure problems, and maximize your healthcare, disability, and education benefits. This website is designed to help inform you of your rights, and the benefits and protections available. (AGO’s Resource Guide for Veterans and Servicemembers.)
- Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination – Have you been discriminated against? The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is the state’s chief civil rights agency. The Commission works to eliminate discrimination on a variety of bases and areas, and strives to advance the civil rights of the people of the Commonwealth through law enforcement, outreach and training. For a complete list of protected classes in the Areas of Discrimination.
- Soldier’s Home in Chelsea – Established in 1882, the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea is a multifaceted health care facility available to eligible veterans of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts providing long term care, skilled nursing care, an Alzheimers’ unit and dormitory style housing for veterans.
- Massachusetts Welcome Home Bonus – Click on the Massachusetts Welcome Home Bonus link above, then select the war period that you are a veteran of and then you will be given the appropriate form to complete and send in to the state. Form W-9 and Electronic Funds Transfer forms are required to complete the application.
- Statewide Housing Advocacy Reintegration and Prevention (S.H.A.R.P.) – This program is collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Veteran Services and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the effort to end homelessness among Veterans. This is accomplished through peer support, mental health services, psychiatric evaluation and linkages to emergency shelter at a Veteran-centric facility while concurrently initiating processes for long-term remediation of the Veteran’s homelessness through enrollment in the HUD-VASH program. This initiative requires the provision of an existing network of DVS Veteran-specific service providers, all of whom are dedicated at 100% effort to the care of homeless Veterans, to which Peer Support and Mental Health Specialists will be hired to provide care coordination services.
- Annuity: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its Department of Veterans’ Services are pleased to provide an annuity payable biannually on August 1st and February 1st in two installments. Please be aware that NEW applications for an August payment must be received and approved by DVS June 30th in any given year. NEW Applications for a February payment must be received and approved by DVS by December 31st in any given year. This annuity is given in recognition of the service of our distinguished 100% service-connected disabled veterans and to the parents of distinguished veterans (Gold Star Parents) and the unmarried spouses (Gold Star Wives or Husbands) of distinguished veterans who gave their lives in the service of their country during wartime.
- Health issues related to service era click here.
- Annuity for blind
- Annuity direct deposit
- Annuity taxation reporting
- Annuity for un-remarried gold star mother family readiness checklist
- Family readiness checklist
- MA Cemetery Pre-Registration
- Military deployment checklist
- Persian Gulf War 1990_91 bonus
- MA Veterans License Plate Application and Registry information.
- MA Gold Star Family Plates: An Application for Gold Star Family Plates must be completed. Along with this completed application, you must submit either an original or a certified copy of one of the following documents to the Special Plates Department of the RMV: A DD Form 1300 Report of Casualty, or a telegram for World War II and Korean military members Mail the completed Application for Gold Star Family Plates and verification listed above to:
Registry of Motor Vehicles
Attn: Special Plates
PO Box 55895
Boston, MA 02205-5895
Local and State Veterans’ Organizations
- Companies Offering Military Discounts.
- Helping Our Troops – Helping Our Troops (H.O.T.) is a program designed to support our American Hero’s from Massachusetts serving overseas. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity home based out of Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- Mission of Deeds – The Mission of Deeds is a non-profit organization staffed by a group of dedicated volunteers who are located in Reading, Massachusetts. They purchase beds with cash donations and distribute them, along with donated furniture and other household items in good condition, to needy veterans, families and individuals living in Middlesex and Essex counties of Massachusetts.
- Friends of Woburn Veterans – a non-profit whose mission is to maintain the perpetual care and preservation of Woburn’s Veterans’ memorials and to support veteran’s related projects throughout the City of Woburn.
- New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans – a multi-dimension service and care provider dedicated to assisting Veterans who are facing or at-risk of homelessness. The Center offers a broad array of programs and services that enable success, reintegration, meaningful employment and independent living.
- Assistance Dogs (NEADS | Canines for Combat Veterans) – assistance dogs are provided to qualifying veterans at no cost.
- Mass VetsAdvisor – Massachusetts resources for understanding veterans benefits and programs.
- Mass Legal Help – Massachusetts legal aid programs put together this web-site to help you find practical information about your legal rights.
- Disabled American Veterans (DAV) – A nonprofit charity providing a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families. One of the various services DAV provides at no cost to veterans is our Mobile Service Office (MSO) program. These “offices-on-wheels” travel to under-served communities across the country to help veterans and their families obtain the services and benefits they have earned. National Service Officers, our MSOs provide professional support throughout the claims and appeals process. When you come to one of the MSO locations, please bring your identification, Social Security number, and any other pertinent documentation regarding your military service. DAV membership is not required to utilize these free services. For more information about MSO stops, please call Mason Sullivan, NSO Supervisor, at (617) 303-5675.
