Dear Veteran,

I want to thank you all for the hospitality I received at your conventions. It was great to see old friends and meet many of you for the first time. Our Department is truly blessed to have the opportunity to partner with your organizations and to receive your unending support.

Through the FY 2007 funding of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Governor Corzine has shown us that veterans are a top priority for his administration. We have been working closely with the Governor's office in order to make his vision for veterans in New Jersey a reality. We understand his goals and have been working hard to execute his plans. Our close collaboration is paramount to the success of our department in providing efficient and ever improving service.

One of Governor Corzine's most important and largest objectives is to help homeless veterans residing in New Jersey. In this regard, Governor Corzine has allocated 2 million dollars for the expansion of our current homeless veterans care program. It is our goal to leverage additional dollars in federal grants from the Veterans Administration. This is just one example of the collaboration between DMAVA and the Governor. For more information on how we care for our homeless veterans, please refer to enclosed articles on our future plans on expansion of our transitional housing program, Veterans Haven.

Veterans Outreach remains the centerpiece of our Department's efforts. We are continuing our mall visitation program and setting up kiosks in order to find those veterans who may need assistance or those who are unaware of the services our state offers. So far our mall visitation program has been a resounding success, and we hope to continue and expand our outreach in other ways as well.

Thanks again for your support and kindness during the convention season. It was my pleasure to work with all of the previous state commanders of your organizations, and I am looking forward to coordinating with new ones.

Best Wishes,

Stephen G. Abel