Area Veterans Relax, Mingle and Learn at Haverhill Resources Fair

(Additional photographs below.)

Local veterans had the opportunity to learn about services and resources, connect with old friends and even get a free haircut at the 2026 Merrimack Valley Stand Down hosted Friday by the New England Center and Home for Veterans in Haverhill.

Twenty-seven vendors ranging from the Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the state Department of Telecommunications and Cable to Charles River Recovery in Weston and AgeSpan in Lawrence were on hand to explain to those veterans who stopped their tables the special programs their agencies offer. There was also a chance to get a free haircut provided by barber Jennifer Nowak, pick up a free pair of socks, a T-shirt or sneakers and enjoy a hot dog or hamburger.

“Today is a veteran’s stand down and essentially it is an opportunity to bring a number of providers together in a sort of one-stop forum so that veterans who are seeking services are able to access them all at once and in one location,” explained Andrew McCawley, president and CEO of the New England Center and Home for Veterans. The Haverhill site on Reed Street is one of two the organization operates. The second is in Boston.

As veterans wandered around the room looking over fliers and picking up tabling swag like pens and chip bag clips, state Executive Office of Veteran Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Gayle-Bennett chatted with McCawley, Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett and Haverhill Veterans Services Director Jeffrey C. Hollett.

Gayle-Bennett told WHAV she is pleased to see the number of agencies and range of programs they represented because veterans often do not know about services and benefits for which they qualify.

“They served. They earned lots of benefits that they don’t even know that exist. And, so to be able to have events like this so they can find out, ‘Oh, maybe I can join a veteran service organization.’ ‘Oh, there’s financial literacy.’ You know there are so many things that are here for veterans just to be able to live their lives and thrive,” Gayle-Bennett told WHAV.

Al Lamonte, who served as a combat medic in the U.S Marine Corps, said he came by mostly to meet old friends, people whom he credits with helping to save his life when he no longer wanted to live. Among them was Mandi Noguera Vega, the stabilization program manager at the New England Center and Home for Veterans. When he spotted Vega, he gave her a big hug.

“Fortunately they were able to revive me in the emergency room. And then the VA took control of my life and here I am today sober five years, four months later,” Lamonte said.

Currently Lamonte, 60, is living in Haverhill and working as a registered private duty nurse.

As part of the event, Hollett brought a sheet cake to mark Purple Heart Day as Friday was also the annual remembrance day for those wounded or killed in combat. The cake, decorated with purple icing, featured a QR code linked to the Military Order of the Purple Heart website, which explains the significance of the day and services available to those awarded the medal.

Hollett told WHAV after the well-attended event, he connected with several veterans he hadn’t seen in a while and was able to remind them to stop by his office to make sure their benefits are up to date.