Montgomery County Office of Veteran Services

The Office of Veteran Services is the office every Pennsylvania county must have: a director of veterans affairs appointed by the commissioners under 16 Pa.C.S. 15524, holding VA accreditation under 51 Pa.C.S. 1731. See the Pennsylvania entry on county directors. It was the Office of Veteran Affairs until May 2, 2024, set up under the Administrative Code of 1929 and part of Health and Human Services since 2016. Who it serves. The "Montgomery County Veteran Community", which the office defines as veterans with other than dishonorable discharges, their spouses, children and other caregivers. The service is free. In 2024 the county said the office files about 1,700 claims a year, and that it gives priority to veterans with unstable housing, older veterans in crisis, those with mental health needs or suicidal thoughts, and those in the justice system. What it does. VA compensation, pension, survivors' and burial claims, and appeals of claims it filed; the county burial allowance, headstone bases and flagholders; and the applications for the State's real estate tax exemption, Veterans' Temporary Assistance, the blind and the amputee and paralyzed veterans' pensions, and the educational gratuity, which go through a county director. It also helps with discharge corrections, such as a name change on a DD-214, refers veterans to the county's housing, mental health and aging services, and runs the free shuttle to VA medical centres (see its own entry). How to reach it. DeKalb Center, 1430 DeKalb Street, PO Box 311, Norristown PA 19404-0311; [email protected]; weekdays from 8 a.m. An appointment is usually needed. The website gives 610-278-3285; the office's pamphlets, a 2025 county blog post and the State's list of county directors give 610-213-4022. Either should reach it. Lines on the county's pages to read with care. The amputee and paralyzed veterans' pension. The State Benefits page says the veteran must be rated 100% permanent and total. 51 Pa.C.S. 7702 asks for the loss, or the permanent and severe paralysis, of two or more limbs, each rated at 40% or more, from service, by a veteran who entered service from Pennsylvania. There is no 100% test. See the Pennsylvania entry. Temporary assistance. The same page describes it as for "honorably discharged Pennsylvania Veterans of any war or armed conflict", then lists "other than dishonorable" service as the test. 51 Pa.C.S. 8501 needs a discharge other than dishonorable after active duty other than for training, and no wartime service. The second line is the law. The tax exemption. See the county's own entry: the page asks for a 100% permanent and total letter, and its FAQ says an applicant over the income figure is not eligible.