Merrimack Valley Area

Based on the 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates, approximately 30,042 veterans live in the 35 Merrimack Valley cities and towns, including 2,242 women. This page includes local events and directories of veterans’ services; VA-accredited representatives, agents, and attorneys; VA healthcare facilities; veteran outreach centers; veterans’ posts and auxiliaries; elder services; community resources; and veteran census and housing data.

When you submit events, use the greater-boston and merrimack-valley tags so they automatically show up on the Merrimack Valley and Northeast regional pages. The listing below has links to see events at the city and town level. As long as you include the city or town where your event is taking place within the event description, it will appear in the relevant local listing.

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. Many municipal veterans’ services office also have VA-accredited staff to assist with federal benefit claims.

Office Hours for Veterans Benefits

VA-Accredited Representatives, Agents & Attorneys

The directory below includes VA-accredited representatives, agents, and attorneys based in cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley from the VA Office of the General Counsel’s Accreditation Search Tool, updated on a weekly basis. Accreditation ensures VA claimants receive qualified assistance aligned with VA Standards of Conduct. Attorney listings also include available official state bar data, license status, registration dates, and disciplinary history, updated on a monthly basis.

Merrimack Valley VA Healthcare Facilities

Merrimack Valley veterans are served by the VA Bedford and VA Boston healthcare systems. VA Bedford’s campus, the Lowell and Haverhill outpatient clinics, and the Lowell Vet Center are located in the area. Anyone who has served in the military is encouraged to apply to determine their eligibility and Priority Group. Some veterans are exempt from co-pays.

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.

NECHV Merrimack Valley

The New England Center & Home for Veterans (NECHV) assumed operations of the regional programs of the Veteran Northeast Outreach Center (VNEOC). NECHV Merrimack Valley is now providing housing assistance, VA Grant and Per Diem Transition in Place (TIP) and Supportive Services for Veterans and Families (SSVF) services, case management, and support with basic needs for the region. For more information regarding the services NECHV offers in the Merrimack Valley or in the greater region please call (978)-305-9810 or email Christopher Nowak.

Merrimack Valley Veterans Posts & Auxiliaries

The Veterans Posts and Auxiliaries directory includes information about the VFW, American Legion, and AMVETS Posts, Marine Corps League Detachments, and DAV Chapters based in Merrimack Valley cities and towns, as well as information about their auxiliaries and other affiliates.

Merrimack Valley Area Elder Services

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.

Councils on Aging (COAs) are municipal agencies that provide local outreach, social and health services, advocacy, information and referral for older adults, their families, and caregivers. COAs and Senior Centers serve as advocates and links to support services for elders, families, and caregivers. They offer outreach, transportation, meals, health screenings, health insurance counseling, and life-long learning, social, fitness, wellness, and recreation activities.

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.

Resource Guides from AgeSpan

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.

For the most current information, you can also use the interactive AgeSpan Community Resource Directory. This searchable online tool provides real-time updates on housing, food assistance, caregiver support, and disability services across the Merrimack Valley and North Shore.

Merrimack Valley Resource Network

The Veterans Collaborative Network Directory is a shared resource that includes the various organizations and programs participants are affiliated with, as long as they’ve signed in or otherwise participated in our summits to help us map the landscape. This is not an exhaustive list of programs serving the Merrimack Valley, but you’ll find many here along with their websites and event listings.

Merrimack Valley Veterans Collaborative

Meal Delivery Program for People with Cancer

Magnolia is a free meal delivery program that provides nutritious meals to people living with cancer and their families living within approximately 25 miles of Cambridge. There are no financial requirements to participate in the program, but to qualify people must:

• be undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy (excluding radioactive iodine treatment), hormone or targeted therapy, including immunotherapy;

• have had surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or targeted therapy in the last three months, including immunotherapy;

• have been discharged from a cancer-related hospitalization in the last three months; or

• be receiving adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment (ie, add-on therapy before/after main therapy).

If you think someone meets the program criteria, please ensure they live within Hanscom AFB or the towns listed here, which includes around half of the cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley:

• Acton, Amesbury, Andover, Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Malden, Medford, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Tewksbury, West Newbury, Westford, Woburn.

Merrimack Valley Veterans Census Data

Based on the 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates, approximately 30,042 veterans live in the 35 Merrimack Valley cities and towns covered by this field guide. Veterans make up about 4 percent of civilian adults age 18 and older, or 3.2 percent of the total population.

Women account for approximately 7.5 percent of veterans in the area (2,242). Around 57 percent of veterans overall are age 65 or older (17,078), compared with 22 percent of women veterans (498). Around 76 percent of veterans served during a wartime period (22,764). An estimated 1,274 people are currently serving in the Armed Forces, including 290 women.

Between the 2021 and 2024 ACS estimates, the estimated veteran population in Merrimack Valley cities and towns decreased by 13.1 percent, from 34,557 to 30,042. The estimated number of women veterans decreased by 9.4 percent, from 2,474 to 2,242.

These figures are based on responses to the American Community Survey. The 5-year estimates describe overlapping periods rather than individual years, and differences should be interpreted alongside their margins of error, especially for smaller population groups.

If you serve veterans and are trying to learn more about their demographics, you can explore the most recent ACS 5-year estimates (most reliable) from Census Reporter for cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley at the links below. These census links update as new releases become available; the figures presented here use the 2020–2024 5-year estimates; the page was updated in October 2026.

Housing Advisory Council

Established through Executive Orders filed in conjunction with the Affordable Homes Act, the Housing Advisory Council and Commission on Unlocking Housing Production is bringing together a broad range of stakeholders from across Massachusetts to advise the Healey-Driscoll administration on strategies to address the state’s housing challenges. A regional listening session was held in May 2024 (see the data below). If you missed them, you can still provide feedback here.