Sarpy County Veterans Services Office

The Sarpy County Veterans Services Office provides, in its own mission statement, courteous, accurate and professional assistance to Sarpy County veterans, their dependents and surviving spouses in applying for federal, state and county benefits; advocates for veterans' benefits across agencies; and serves as liaison between claimants, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs through the claims process. The office is at 1102 East 1st Street, Suite 5, Papillion, NE 68046, phone (402) 593-2203, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The service office director is Tim Henderson, the assistant service officer Adam Westby, and the service technicians Kendra Stachum and Heather Kuntz. What the office files. Federal benefits: burial benefits, healthcare, home loans, non-service-connected disability pension, service-connected disability compensation, the GI Bill and other education benefits, and vocational rehabilitation. State programs: admittance to a Nebraska Veterans Home, emergency financial assistance from the Veterans' Aid Fund (specific residency and character-of-discharge rules apply), the homestead exemption and waiver of tuition. The office's own forms include the County Veterans Aid Worksheet and the Bronze Flag Holder Application, alongside the federal worksheets (SF-15 veteran preference, claims worksheets, SF-180 records requests and the VA home loan certificate request). Eligibility for county veterans benefits requires honorable or general (under honorable conditions) active duty service in specific periods; the office says to contact it about the service periods. County veterans aid. Under section 80-102 the county's veterans service committee pays aid including food, shelter, fuel, wearing apparel, medical or surgical aid and funeral expenses from a fund the county board may raise with a levy of up to one cent on each one hundred dollars of taxable value, for a veteran honorably or generally (under honorable conditions) discharged who has lived in Nebraska a year and in Sarpy County six months, and for the veteran's spouse, surviving spouse and minor children under eighteen. The homestead exemption applications for Sarpy County property go to the county assessor, as the State's homestead entry explains.