Merrimack Valley

This page includes local events from the shared calendar and directories of veterans’ services; posts and auxiliaries; Aging Services Access Points; VA-accredited representatives, agents, and attorneys; and local collaboratives in the Merrimack Valley area.

Tag any events you submit with #greater-boston and #merrimack-valley so they show up here and on our Northeast page. Use the listing below to search for events by city or town. As long as you include the name of the city or town in the listing, they will show up in the local listings. You can also find links to local listings for in person and online AA/NA meetings by city and town below.

33,666 veterans are estimated to live in Merrimack Valley.

 
 

The mission of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) is to act as the primary advocate on behalf of all the Commonwealth’s veterans. The Office provides outreach and support through various programs. EOVS offers assistance to eligible veterans and their surviving spouses through the MassVets Financial Benefits Program, administered by local veterans’ services.

Veterans may use the Mass Vet Benefit Calculator to see what they may qualify for and contact their local veterans’ services office to apply. MGL Chapter 115 requires each town/city have a veterans’ agent to administer these benefits, but two or more contiguous towns can also appoint someone to serve as veterans’ agent and form Veterans’ Services Districts.

Merrimack Valley Directories

 

Merrimack Valley Veterans Collaborative

 
 
 

  • Hosted by AgeSpan in Lawrence.

    • Sean Norris, Transition in Place Program Manager, Veterans Northeast Outreach Center

    • Yanitza Mendez, Program Coordinator, Supportive Services for Veterans & Families (SSVF)

    • Cristen Comptois, Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services

    • Outreach Coordinator, Clear Path for Veterans New England

  • Kelley Hill, Independent Insurance Broker & Celina Felix, Careforth, hosted virtually by the Tewksbury Senior Center.

  • MeVa Transit, hosted by AgeSpan at the North Andover Senior Center.

  • SHINE, hosted by AgeSpan in Lawrence

  • VA Bedford with Leanna Lynch, hosted at Chelmsford Town Hall by AgeSpan

  • Banyan Treatment Centers, hosted at the North Andover Senior Center by AgeSpan

  • Northeast Passage, hosted virtually by AgeSpan

  • Home Base Program, hosted virtually by AgeSpan

  • Essex County Treatment Courts in Lawrence, hosted virtually by AgeSpan

  • American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, hosted virtually by AgeSpan

 

Transportation to VA Bedford

Merrimack Valley Transit’s Medi MeVa is a no cost curb-to-curb transportation service launched in January 2024 to VA Bedford on Wednesdays & Fridays with one trip to Bedford in the morning and one returning in the afternoon for Veterans and their families who reside in:

  • Amesbury, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury/Byfield, Newburyport, North Andover, North Reading, Rowley, Salisbury, and West Newbury.

The hours are flexible and will vary depending on appointment times and demand. The idea of service to VA Bedford came through conversations between MeVa Transit and Merrimack Valley Veterans Collaborative vision committee members identifying a transportation service gap across the Merrimack Valley region for Veterans and their families to access care.

MeVa Transit was perfectly positioned to close this gap with their Medi MeVa van service and joined the MVVC’s September meeting with an idea of a service plan going forward.

“As public transit professionals, MeVa was able to quickly design a program that would immediately address the need presented by the local veteran services community. We have created a program that is easy to use, without forcing our Veterans and their families to fill out excessive paperwork to access this service. Veterans and their families just have to call our offices to get set up in our reservation system,” said Amy Jenkins, Director of miniMeVa services at MeVa Transit.

merrimack valley resource guide

The Green Book: A Resource Guide to Programs & Services for Older Adults & Persons with Disabilities published by AgeSpan (updated in January 2020) is meant to be used in conjunction with the Veteran Resource Guide of the Merrimack Valley (updated May 2018) to assist veterans, families, and professionals working with veterans.

Aging Services Access Points

Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) are private, non-profit agencies established under MGL Chapter 19A. ASAPs provide direct and protective services, including information and referrals; interdisciplinary case management; intake and assessment; developing, implementing, and monitoring service plans; reassessing needs; and investigating reports of elder abuse and neglect.

MassOptions is a service of the Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) that can also help older adults, people with disabilities, and family members or caregivers identify aging and disability services and connect to those that can meet their needs. Call (800) 243-4636 or click here to complete a referral.

Merrimack Valley Veterans

2021 Veteran population by gender in the Merrimack Valley.

If you serve veterans in the Merrimack Valley area and are trying to learn more about their demographics, you can explore the most recent 2021 ACS 1-year estimates from Census Reporter below. The underlying linked data was updated to reflect the 2022 ACS data.

Based on the 2021 ACS 1-year estimates, there were 33,666 veterans living in cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley, accounting for half of the veterans in Essex and Middlesex County overall.

Essex County

Merrimack Valley veterans make up around 42% of veterans (and half of women veterans) living in Essex County.

  • Around 76% served during wartime. 

  • Around 22% were over age 65 (including almost 9% of women veterans).

Middlesex County

Merrimack Valley veterans make up around 52% of  veterans (and half of women veterans) living in Middlesex County.

  • Around 75% served during wartime. 

  • Around 62% were over age 65 (including 24% of women veterans).

Age, gender & veteran status is available at the city and town level for Merrimack Valley with 5-year estimates (most reliable) and for service era with 1-year estimates (most current). Age, disability & poverty status, median incomes, service era, and service-connected disability is available at the county level with 1-year estimates.