Watertown currently lacks a dedicated veterans services officer, but while the City works to fill the opening the Director of Human Services has taken on most of that role.
Jenna Bancroft, the director of the Human Services Department, has been working to get veterans their benefits, and is helping to plan the Memorial Day Parade and related events, she told the City Council at the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget hearing on May 6.
In Fiscal Year 2026, the current year, the Veterans Services Department merged into the newly created Human Services Department, said City Manager George Proakis. The City hired Jay Terminiello in October 2025, succeeding longtime VSO Patrick George. Terminiello has moved on, and the City is seeking a new Veterans Agent.
Bancroft has taken on some of the work of the VSO.
“I am taking the bulk of the responsibility for the gap that we feel without having a VSO,” Bancroft said. “I’m being trained, as we speak, on how to distribute Chapter 115 benefits. Cash assistance is still very much available. People who are currently receiving it continue to receive it as they were, and I’m working on the recertifications and helping new people get access.”
She added: “It’s not something that’s going to be forever. But a silver lining. I’m learning a lot about what our new VSO will need to do, and I think that’s also important.”
Watertown can also get assistance from the state’s Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS) and the national level.
“We also have a partnership with the EOVS that we can send residents, veterans, who need help with their VA claims and to check on their status,” Bancroft said. “That’s a federal program, of course. There are National Service Officers that can help people. So we’ve been communicating that to veterans that have reached out and called.”
Bancroft has also worked with local veterans groups.
“We also are building a really strong relationship with the VFW and Marine Corps League in the community. I was just at a meeting last night to communicate with them about upcoming Memorial Day plans and other services,” she said. “So we’re really taking this opportunity with the gap to build stronger relationships with the community and working with them to share with their membership and people that they know what services and resources.”
Planning for the Memorial Day Parade is also something Bancroft is working on.
“There’s lots of events that happen regarding Memorial Day and other veteran related events,” Bancroft said. “So not only am I receiving support from the City side through our Department of Public Works and Building Department and our Police and Fire departments, as well, but also through our veteran agencies and organizations in the community — the VFW and the Marine Corps League, their vital partnership. So I’ve really received a lot of support.”
The Memorial Day parade will take place on Monday, May 25 starting at noon from Watertown City Hall (149 Main Street) and follow the same parade route as the last two years, winding up at Victory Field with a brief ceremony.
The Flag Planting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 20 from 5-8 p.m. Volunteers and representatives from Watertown Veterans Services will join local veterans’ organizations to replace veteran cemetery flags at Ridgelawn Cemetery and Saint Patrick’s Cemetery. The rain date is Thursday, May 21.
The Poppy Social will be on Friday, May 22, from 10 a.m.-noon at the Commander’s Mansion, 440 Talcott Avenue.
The Wreath Ceremony is Sunday, May 24, from 8-10 a.m. starting at the Marine Corps League, 215 Mt Auburn St.