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Division of Veterans Services

One Bergen County Plaza, 2nd Floor
Hackensack , NJ 07601
Phone: 201-336-6325
Fax: 201-336-6327
veterans@co.bergen.nj.us

Kevin Clancy, Director

MISSION

To advise resident veterans and their dependents of benefits earned through honorable active duty in the U.S. Military, and to provide them assistance in the application process, and in addition, to maintain a list of available jobs for veterans seeking employment. 

GOALS

• Advising veterans of their rights and the benefits available to them through various programs now in existence
• Guiding veterans through the proper channels to obtain benefits
• Supplying and assisting with the completion of the forms to obtain various benefits
• Advising and assisting veterans’ widows and children in obtaining benefits available to them
• Maintaining a list of available employment opportunities
• Making referrals to other agencies whenever necessary
• Calling on industry and organizations which may be able to offer employment to veterans

SUMMARY OF SERVICES

The Division of Veterans Services was established in 1977 to provide resident veterans and their dependents with information and assistance in obtaining earned entitlements from federal, state, and local governments; as well as any that are available from the private sector. Through a quarterly newsletter and direct client contact, the division provides Bergen’s veterans organizations and their auxiliaries and individual residents with up-to-date benefit information. Daily activities include initiating requests for VA compensation, pension home loans, burial, and educational benefits; VA life insurance claims, lost military separation papers, medals due from service and VA health care enrollment.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS:

The division maintains a list of available employment opportunities, and regularly calls on industry and organizations seeking employment opportunities for veterans. Staff attempts to match the veteran with employer needs.

Transportation to Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in New Jersey is available Monday-Friday through a coordinated effort with Bergen County Division of Community Transportation and the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Each year, the Division of Veterans Services provides the county American Legion with United States flags for Memorial Day placement on the graves of war veterans buried in Bergen County cemeteries.

Veterans who were honorably or generally discharged from the military and have passed away may be interred in the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown, NJ. Their place of rest is marked and cared for perpetually.

Alfred J. Thomas Home
Transitional Housing & Support Services for Veterans

Our mission is to ensure that Bergen County homeless veterans are assisted in their return to the community by becoming self‑sufficient through rehabilitation. The home is named for Alfred J. Thomas, who started the Bergen County Tracers Program, which uses a non traditional approach to link homeless veterans to community based entitlements and services. Mr. Thomas was a World War II U.S. Army Veteran, a member of the Division of Veterans Services Advisory Council, and a life long member of the VFW #5561 of Bogota

Filing for VA entitlements

You have earned many benefits as an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Military. A very nice free guide explaining your federal and New Jersey benefits should be available to you by phoning 1-800 624-0508 and requesting the “Veterans Guide.” You can also download a copy.

TRACERS

Helping homeless veterans and veterans in danger of becoming homeless

Giving a hand to homeless vets, not a hand-out

"Tracers" wants to end homelessness for veterans in Bergen County

 Working together – we can do it

Assisting homeless veterans is a top priority for the Bergen County Division of Veterans Services and its Advisory Board. In 1993, the division addressed this priority by launching "TRACERS," an all-volunteer group consisting of resident veterans.

The primary mission of our volunteers is to locate homeless veterans and link them to community-based and VA sponsored programs and benefits. "TRACERS" hopes to find veterans shelters, jobs which provide adequate income, as well as other needed services in Bergen County.

"TRACERS" works with local veteran groups and other nonprofit organizations, public officials, business leaders, homeless and formerly homeless veterans.

Our program's name, "TRACERS," was derived from the glow-in-the-dark bullets recognized by U.S. Military personnel. The veterans who volunteer for "TRACERS" are guiding lights who offer nontraditional outreach efforts to homeless veterans.

The goal of "TRACERS" is to help every homeless veteran in Bergen County reach self-sufficiency. In addition, "TRACERS" has established a transitional home in the City of Garfield with support services for eight homeless veterans. The home opened in 2003.

While the exact number of homeless veterans in Bergen County is unknown, the number is estimated at nearly one hundred.

Some veterans in Bergen are without a residence, but they are not really homeless – the United States is their home.

In 1994, "TRACERS" was recognized by Rutgers University for its innovation and received the coveted New Jersey State and Local Award. In April 1996, the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc. honored "TRACERS" as a finalist in the Adult Volunteer category.

Donations to the "Tracers" program are used to supply bus tickets to jobs, assist in preparing the veteran for employment, and to fill-in gaps in the service delivery system. Since our inception, more than $15,000 in bus tickets were given to homeless vets.

There's no time like the present to send a check or call us for needed supplies at (201) 336-6325.

Kindly make check payable to:

"County of Bergen Tracers"
Bergen County Division of Veterans Services
One Bergen County Plaza • 2nd Floor • Hackensack, NJ 07601

You can help by also donating:

$25 -$50 gift certificates redeemable in Hackensack stores such as SEARS, S-4 Military Surplus,and CVS Pharmacy.

New items such as: carrying bags, sweatshirts (Large and X-Large), etc., may be dropped off weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking is available. Pickup can be arranged for individual cartons weighing less than 25 lbs. (if volunteers are available).

"TRACERS" assures that every penny donated is spent on items and services which help improve the lives of former members of the United States Military and their families who are now homeless. All donations of $50 or more will be acknowledged with a certificate signed by Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney.