Nantucket County

As of 2022, there were 545 veterans living in Nantucket County, all of which were men. This page includes local event listings and directories of veterans’ services; posts and auxiliaries; specialty courts; and elder services, along with census, VA spending, and public health data for the county.

All events in Nantucket are tagged #southeast and #cape-cod. When you submit events, include tags and the word Nantucket so they show up above and on other relevant calendars for the area.

Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services

The mission of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) is to act as the primary advocate on behalf of all the Commonwealth’s veterans. The Office provides outreach and support through various programs. EOVS offers assistance to eligible veterans and their surviving spouses through the MassVets Financial Benefits Program. Veterans may use the Mass Vet Benefit Calculator to see what they may qualify for and contact their local veterans’ services office to apply. 

Veterans’ Posts in Nantucket County

Auxiliaries in the Nantucket County

Specialty Courts in Nantucket County

The Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts, an initiative of the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court, aims to bring innovative, evidence-based, and equitable interventions to Specialty Courts.

  • Veterans’ Treatment Courts are court-supervised, treatment-focused collaboratives designed to handle criminal cases involving defendants with a history of military service through a coordinated effort among the veterans services delivery system, community-based providers, and the court.

    • Currently the Cape and Islands does not have a Veterans’ Court. The Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office is collaborating with community stakeholders to appeal to the Trial Court to open a Veterans’ Court Session.

    Veterans’ treatment court sessions aim to improve public safety while dealing with underlying issues of PTSD, TBI, and MST.  Abstinence from drugs/alcohol, mandated treatment, swift accountability, and weekly interaction with the court is required.

  • Recovery Courts, also referred to as Drug Treatment Courts and Drug Courts, address the behavioral health and social support needs of adults involved with the criminal-legal system. Recovery Courts are designed to assist court-involved people in their path toward recovery from substance use and away from unlawful behavior. 

    • Recovery Court special sessions take place in the Barnstable District Court, Falmouth District Court, and as of February 2024, the Edgartown (Martha Vineyard) District Court. Referrals to Recovery Court come from the Cape & Islands District Attorney Office, defense attorneys, and probation officers.

  • Mental Health Courts, also referred to as Recovery Courts and Recovery with Justice, address the behavioral health and social support needs of adults involved with the criminal-legal system. Mental Health Courts are designed to increase access to mental health treatment for court-involved people and assist them in their path away from unlawful behavior.

    • The Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office is in the process of establishing Mental Health Court sessions in the area.

Elder Services in Nantucket County

Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) are private, non-profit agencies established under MGL Chapter 19A. ASAPs provide direct and protective services, including information and referrals; interdisciplinary case management; intake and assessment; developing, implementing, and monitoring service plans; reassessing needs; and investigating reports of elder abuse and neglect.

MassOptions is a service of the Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) that can also help older adults, people with disabilities, and family members or caregivers identify aging and disability services and connect to those that can meet their needs. Call (800) 243-4636 or click here to complete a referral.

Veterans in Nantucket County

Based on the 2022 ACS 5-year estimates, there are 545 veterans and 2 service members living in Nantucket, all of which are men. Due to the small veteran population, estimates are not available at the county level for veterans by age, disability, and poverty status. You can explore 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates for Nantucket County linked below, as well as other military and veteran census data with interactive maps and tables, on the Census Reporter.

  • Around 107 veterans have completed high school; there are 29 veterans with less than a high school education. Most veterans in Nantucket have attained education beyond high school with 329 veterans having a bachelor’s degree or higher and 80 veterans and service members having associate’s degree or some college experience.

  • Service members in Nantucket are under age 30, but all veterans are age 55 or older. Most are not in the labor force because they are between 65 and 74 years old (229 veterans) or age 75 and older (255 veterans). Among the 61 veterans between the ages of 55 and 64, 44 veterans were in the labor force, all of which were employed with median incomes above their nonveteran peers.

The majority of veterans served prior to the Gulf War. There were 14 veterans with World War II service only, with the majority of veterans serving only during the Vietnam (274 veterans) or Korean Wars (52 veterans) or during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars (31 veterans) or the Vietnam and Gulf Wars (8 veterans).

Veterans with peacetime service only in Nantucket served either between the Korean and Vietnam Wars (90 veterans) or between the Vietnam and Gulf Wars (39 veterans). The rest of the veterans had wartime service only during the Gulf War (27 veterans) or during both the Gulf and Post 9/11 Wars (7 veterans).

Disabled veterans are potentially eligible for VA compensation if they have a service-connected disability or VA pension based on income if they have wartime service. Most veterans in Nantucket do not have service-connected disabilities (503 veterans) rated by the VA. Among those who do, 17 veterans are rated between 10–20 percent and 25 veterans are rated at 70 percent or higher.

VA Spending in Nantucket County

VA estimates there were 614 veterans in Nantucket as of September 2023. Based on the 2023 VA GDX Report, the VA spent over $941,000 in Nantucket County in FY23, including:

  • almost $628,000 on VA compensation and pension benefit payments, up from $563,000 in FY22;

  • over $261,000 VA care for 58 patients (an average of $4,328 per patient), down from $363,000 for 64 unique patients (an average of $5,672 per patient) in FY22.

  • around $51,000 on education and vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits, up from $37,000 in FY22.

Public Health Data in Nantucket County

The U.S. Center for Disease Control’s Suicide Prevention Strategies for Communities support the implementation of a public health approach that uses data to drive decision-making. Massachusetts does not publish comprehensive data surrounding the deaths of service members and veterans. The chart below includes toxicology data for suicide deaths overall in the Cape Cod and Islands area.