Veterans’ Services Office Mission Statement
The mission of the Fairhaven Veterans’ Services Office is to provide eligible veterans and their families, who are residents of Fairhaven, with financial and medical assistance in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 115 and CMR 108. The Veterans’ Services Officer (VSO) is an advocate for Fairhaven’s veterans and their dependents.
Additionally, your VSO provides referrals and assistance with housing, alternate sources of income, such as Social Security and the VA, employment and educational opportunities, fuel assistance programs, area food banks and shelters. We are committed to ensuring that the veterans of Fairhaven and their families receive the assistance that they are eligible for and to encourage them to seek permanent, life-long solutions to their needs.
The Fairhaven Veterans’ Services Office also establishes appropriate veterans’ memorials, provides burial allowances for eligible veterans and is responsible for the marking, flag placement, and identification of all veteran graves in this town.
Department of Veteran Services
A History
Since 1861, from its first commitment to Civil War veterans, their spouses and their dependents, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had demonstrated solid concern and compassion for those men and women who have displayed sacrifice, valor, and duty when their state and nation called upon them. The Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and supports a network and benefits to ensure that none of the 600,000 veterans in Massachusetts today, who served in time of war, nor their 1.2 million dependents will go hungry, be homeless, or be medically deprived.
Following World War II, the Legislature redrafted Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L), Chapter 115 establishing the position of Secretary of Veterans’ Services, who has the responsibility for the proper administration of M.G.L, Chapter 115. This program provides the necessary support for the veterans with the dignity and the sensitivity to which they are entitled, in view of the sacrifices they have made for their country. The dependents of the deceased veterans are also provided with the same benefits.
It is the Veterans’ Service Officer to whom the unemployed, the indigent, the disabled, the ill, or the veterans otherwise in need, first apply for assistance. Appointed by the mayors or selectmen of the cities and towns in Massachusetts, the Veterans’ Service Officers interview the applicants, determine their eligibility, and file requests for assistance with the Commissioner of Veterans’ Services. Veterans’ Service Officers are available to anyone seeking information or assistance in the area of veterans’ benefits and services. They may be reached at their city/town halls.
The support that the Commonwealth gives to a deserving segment of our population through the locally based veterans’ assistance programs is unlike that of any other in the nation of the envy of other states.
“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that, no man shall have.” — Theodore Roosevelt