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State deputy secretary outlines veteran-housing pledge and local initiatives; Lynn veterans council previews memorials and parade plans
Summary
Andrea Gail Bennett, Massachusetts deputy secretary for Veterans' Services, briefed the Lynn Veterans Committee on housing investments under the HERO Act, a municipal pledge to end veteran homelessness, and other state initiatives; local veterans leaders described upcoming memorials, scholarships and a planned 2026 parade.
The Lynn Veterans Committee heard a presentation on April 8 from Andrea Gail Bennett, deputy secretary at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans' Services, about state initiatives to support veterans and ways the city can participate.
Bennett said the administration has focused on veterans' housing and services since Governor Healey took office. She said the state has invested $13,000,000 in veteran housing developments, including units in Lynn, and has launched programs to reduce veteran homelessness. Bennett presented a municipal engagement initiative — a pledge municipalities can sign to advance five areas: encouraging private landlords to participate in HUD-VASH, considering veteran preference in affordable housing, increasing the veterans' property tax exemption, tying disabled-veteran exemptions to inflation, and evaluating underutilized municipal properties for veteran housing.
"We're coming up on our one-year anniversary of the end veteran homelessness campaign," Bennett said, and described new employment, education and training programs for veterans and an expanded veterans higher-education tax credit under the HERO Act. She also recommended expedited permitting and housing-assistance programs where local capacity allows and urged expanded access to mental health supports, training for first responders on veteran-specific crisis response, and lethal-means-safety training for the veteran community.
Committee members asked whether the national 988 crisis line remained available; Bennett confirmed 988 is up and running and that the Executive Office of Veterans' Services maintains an engagement team and contact options on its website. Committee members also asked about a local tax exemption for veterans; Michael Sweeney, Lynn's VA services officer, said city staff and the assessor had worked on a plan and that any change would take effect in fiscal 2026.
Local veterans updates: Michael Sweeney and Charlie Griffin, the newly elected president of the Lynn Veterans Council, described upcoming events: a memorial for a former CIA operative at Flax Pond on April 30, ongoing scholarship awards from the Brad Campos memorial fund (three $1,000 awards planned), Memorial Day events including graveside flag placement on May 22 and a Memorial Day procession on May 26, and the annual Freedom Fish outing for veterans sponsored by the EDIC. Griffin asked for citywide support for a larger 2026 parade commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the nation's 250th anniversary.
No formal council action or vote was recorded; the committee heard the information and asked staff and state representatives to stay engaged.
