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Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Fund — Rent, Utilities, Medical, Funeral

A state fund established in 1919, held by the State Treasurer and administered by the American Legion, paying temporary aid for rent, mortgage interest, utilities, medical, dental, vision, hearing and funeral costs. The gate is ninety days of wartime active duty.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

A state fund established in 1919, held by the State Treasurer and administered by the American Legion, paying temporary aid for rent, mortgage interest, utilities, medical, dental, vision, hearing and funeral costs. The gate is ninety days of wartime active duty.

What it's worth: Temporary aid toward rent, mortgage interest, utilities, medical, dental, vision, hearing, funeral costs

  • The fund publishes no dollar figure. Its own words are that assistance is provided for temporary periods only and is limited in amount, frequency and duration as specified by the State Fund Commission.
  • Income and asset limits apply, and the fund states plainly that an applicant must demonstrate need. The application asks for two recent pay stubs or income statements, two recent savings or checking statements, and documentation of any current assistance from state or charitable organisations.
  • Covered on the fund’s own list: weekly assistance; rental payments or mortgage INTEREST payments; gas, electricity, water (meter-read bills only) and home heating fuel (a trip ticket must be provided); medical expenses (limits apply); emergent dental care (veteran only); eye examination and eyeglasses; audiological evaluation and hearing aids; funeral expenses; durable medical equipment.
  • The wartime gate is ninety days of active duty inside a statutory wartime period, unless discharged before ninety days for a VA-rated service-connected disability. Where a conflict lasted fewer than ninety days, combat or combat-support service in the theatre counts.
  • The wartime periods the fund lists are World War I (6 April 1917 – 11 November 1918), World War II (7 December 1941 – 31 December 1946), Korea (27 June 1950 – 31 January 1955), Vietnam (28 February 1961 – 1 July 1975) and the Persian Gulf era (2 August 1990 to the present), plus named operations in Lebanon, Grenada, Earnest Will and Panama where the applicant served in the operational theatre in a combat or combat-support role.

This record exists to correct a myth. It pays mortgage interest, not mortgage principal. The fund’s not-covered list names payment of mortgage principal or purchase of real estate outright, so a veteran hoping to have a mortgage caught up will find only the interest portion in scope.

Who is entitled to it

  • The fund asks that you were honourably separated from the service.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Find the Fund Representative or Veterans Aid Investigator for the town you live in — the fund publishes a volunteers-by-town list. You cannot file centrally; the application starts with that person.
  2. 2If your own town’s representative is unavailable, the fund says you may approach a representative in a nearby town, or a local American Legion post whose service officer may also be a Fund Representative.
  3. 3Assemble what the fund asks for before the meeting: DD-214 or equivalent, a state photo ID or driver’s licence, Social Security numbers for you and your spouse, marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates where they apply, a signed release of information, income documentation, liquid-asset documentation, and a note of any assistance you already receive.
  4. 4Bring the actual bill for the thing you need paid. Heating fuel requires a trip ticket, and water is covered only on meter-read bills.
  5. 5Check the Persian Gulf era date carefully before assuming you are outside the wartime gate — it runs from 2 August 1990 to the present, so most recent service is inside it.
File with
A Fund Representative or Veterans Aid Investigator in your own community
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionIt pays mortgage interest, not mortgage principal. The fund’s not-covered list names payment of mortgage principal or purchase of real estate outright, so a veteran hoping to have a mortgage caught up will find only the interest portion in scope.
CorrectionIt is not a debt fund. Payment of personal debts, credit card bills, past-due bills, loans or other obligations is on the not-covered list, as are taxes (sewer taxes included), insurance premiums, home repair or maintenance, telephone and cable bills, and the purchase of furniture, automobiles or other capital goods.
Worth knowingThe administering body is not a state office. The fund is in the custody of the State Treasurer as trustee, but the American Legion determines eligibility and makes the payments, and applications begin with a town-level Fund Representative or Veterans Aid Investigator.
Worth knowingDependants are reached on the fund’s own terms: a spouse must reside with the applicant, and a child must be natural or adopted, under 18, and living in the household.
Worth knowingEducation is largely out. The fund does not pay educational expenses, and states that assistance may not be provided to full-time students — which matters to a veteran using the GI Bill and short of rent.
Known gapNo dollar caps are published. The amount, frequency and duration are set by the State Fund Commission and are not stated on any page read here, so this record carries no figure. Ask the Fund Representative what the current limits are.
Known gapThe statute text itself is unread. The legislature’s host refused every connection attempted this session, so §§27-138 and 27-140 appear here only as cited and applied by the administering body.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.