Welcome Home BonusYou are eligible if you meet the following criteria: six months domicile in Massachusetts immediately prior to entry into the armed forces service, beginning September 11, 2001, and discharge under honorable conditions.
- Servicemembers who served active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan receive $1000.
- Servicemembers with six months or more active service, stateside or outside the continental limits of the United States, receive $500.
Learn more about the Welcome Home BonusCivil Service and Veterans' Preference If you are a Massachusetts veteran, as defined in the Introduction above, you are entitled to veterans’ preference in civil service exams. If you attain a score of 70% or higher, you are entitled to go to the top of the exam list, with disabled veterans having top priority. If you apply for a promotional exam, you get two points added to your score. If you apply for a civil service job for which there is no exam, you are entitled to veterans’ preference in a "provisional appointment." If you apply for a position in the labor force, you are not required to take an exam and you go to the top of the list.
Learn more about Civil Service and Veterans' PreferenceFinancial and Civil Protections You have certain financial and civil protections under both federal and state versions of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. These protections occur when you enter military service, and when you are called up for active duty as a member of the Reserve or Guard. Under this law, your protection begins on the date you enter active service, or the date your orders begin, and generally terminates within 30 to 180 days after the date of your discharge depending on the right. To receive some of the protections, you have to be prepared to show that military service has had a "material effect" on the legal or financial matter involved.
Learn more about Financial and Civil ProtectionsEmployment OpportunitiesThere are numerous federal and state programs available to you if you are seeking employment.
VOICE, or Veterans’ Outreach Initiative for Competitive Employment, located at the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services is a good place to start your search, because they can put you in touch with the various federal and state vocational rehabilitation, career counseling, and job network services located within the Commonwealth.
Learn more about Employment OpportunitiesEducation If you are a veteran, as defined in the Introduction, Massachusetts provides you a full or partial tuition waiver for any state-supported course in an undergraduate degree program or certificate program at the school’s discretion. These waivers are also referred to as "categorical waivers." Call the college or university where you are interested in enrolling and identify yourself as a veteran looking to use the tuition waiver benefit and ask for the veterans’ representative. As to tuition waivers for graduate school, it depends on the institution. If you are a member of the Guard, see below for additional tuition waiver benefits.
If you are a member of the Massachusetts Air or Army National Guard you may take advantage of several programs that will allow you to waive tuition at state schools in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts National Guard Education Assistance Program provides a 100% tuition and fee waiver for Massachusetts National Guard soldiers attending a state college, university, or community college program. The fee waiver program is a result of the Welcome Home Bill (HB 4469) signed on November 11, 2005. The fee waiver is not effective until July 2006 and is not retroactive. Generally, these state-supported programs are offered during the day as part of a degree program. Your assistance can continue as long as you are in good standing academically and until you have reached 130 semester hours. Please contact the college or university veteran’s representative for details about this program.
Qualifying Guard members can take advantage of another educational program called Federal Tuition Assistance (FTA). The FTA offers $4,500 per fiscal year to be used at regionally or nationally accredited, public or private colleges, universities, vocational, technical, or trade schools located inside or outside the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The FTA can offer soldiers up to $250 per semester hour for tuition and up to 100% of fees that are charged to all students for enrollment purposes or fees directly related to the instruction of the course. Yes! This means that you can also get help paying for fees at Massachusetts state colleges and universities.
Learn more about Educational BenefitsHousing When you return from active duty, we hope that you know where you will live. Unfortunately some veterans may have lost their housing and are having trouble finding a place to live or having trouble paying the rent or mortgage. The information included below may help you solve your housing problems. If you are having any of these troubles, immediately call or visit the Veterans’ Agent in the community where you live or want to live.
The first place to visit is you local Veterans’ Agent in the community where you live or want to live. There are also nine state-funded Outreach Centers in every region of the state, which provide help to veterans who are searching for housing. Some Outreach Centers also provide supportive housing for homeless veterans. The VA Medical Centers in Bedford, Boston, Brockton, and Springfield have Homeless Coordinators who can help. Women veterans who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness can get help from the VA Boston’s Homeless Women Veterans Outreach and Case Management Program.
Learn more about Housing BenefitsYour Local Veterans' Agent The best place for you to go for help with other questions is to your local Veterans’ Agent, who works out of your local City or Town Hall. The Veterans’ Agent’s job is to help veterans learn about, apply for, and in some cases, receive benefits. Veterans’ Agents are knowledgeable about an array of federal, state, and local benefits to which you may be entitled. Your Agent can help you fill out application forms for the benefits listed in this booklet.
Learn more about Your Local Veterans' AgentYoga for Combat Veterans with PTSDThe Worcester Vet Center has joined forces with the Central Mass Yoga Institute (CMYI) in West Boylston to offer yoga for combat veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The focuses on a relaxed pace in a safe and nurturing environment. Yoga is a simple, effective technique that delivers inner peace, vibrant health, and relaxation.
Yoga therapy has proven effective for combat veterans with PTSD in terms of positive physical, mental, and emotional growth. The CMYI program has received national attention (see "A Soldier’s Heart: Veterans and PTSD" in Yoga International, April/May 2006).
Learn more about Yoga for Combat Veterans with PTSD
