Pierce County Veterans Services and Veterans Assistance Fund

Pierce County Veterans Services administers the county's Veterans Assistance Fund, the fund every Washington county must keep under chapter 73.08 RCW (see the Washington entry), and runs the Veterans Resource Center, 1501 Market Street, Suite 170, Tacoma (253-798-7449, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Call first for a phone interview and an appointment. Emergency assistance. Short-term help, paid as vouchers and never as cash, with rent or mortgage, electricity, gas and propane, food, limited emergency medical and dental expenses, prescriptions, and burial expenses for a veteran, spouse or dependent child under 18. Apply online. Who. A veteran with a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.08.005; a Pierce County resident at application; a Washington resident for at least 90 days before applying; and a household under the programme's income guidelines (in 2026, for one person, $1,729 a month at the four-month need standard up to $3,059 at the high standard). Bring an original or certified DD-214 (or a pre-1950 Certificate of Discharge), ID, documents for dependents, and proof of income such as VA award letters. Where the county adds to the statute. Chapter 73.08 RCW lets the county define who is indigent, but sets no length of residence; the 90-day Washington residence rule is the county's. RCW 73.08.070 covers the burial of an indigent veteran or a "family member", defined to include dependent children without an age limit, where the county's list names a dependent child under 18. VA claims. Washington Department of Veterans Affairs service officers at the center help with disability compensation, pension, survivor and burial claims (253-798-7847 or 253-798-7856).