The Union County Prosecutor’s Office is joining forces with a number of partner organizations to host a public forum on veterans’ affairs, part of a continuing series of public events presented as part of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s 21-County, 21st-Century Community Policing Project, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo announced Wednesday.

The forum is scheduled to take place 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10 at Cranford VFW Post 335, located at 479 South Avenue East in Cranford. Admission is free, and citizens of all ages, veterans, as well as local representatives of social service agencies and other organizations serving veterans, are encouraged to attend.

A panel of subject matter experts will serve as the centerpiece of the forum, with Prosecutor’s Office Assistant Prosecutor Tiffany Wilson, who administers the state’s Veterans Diversion Program in Union County, serving as moderator. Also scheduled to speak are U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Justice Outreach Specialist Mark Correale, New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Assistant Director of Enforcement Gregory K. Turner, VFW Department of New Jersey Judge Advocate Jay Boxwell, Union County Office of Veterans Services Coordinator Janna Williams, Union County Human Relations Commissioner Peter McTiernan, and retired Union Township Police Department Sgt. Michael Boll, whose work with the Operation Rebound nonprofit group supporting permanently disabled veterans has won him several community awards.

More than 15,000 veterans call Union County home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Statewide, the veteran population numbers greater than 400,000, or about 5 percent of New Jersey’s total. The purpose of this forum, and many others like it going on across the state during recent months, is to spread awareness of the many various forms of social services available to benefit veterans.

“Veterans across Union County and across the state selflessly answered a call to serve their nation and its armed forces,” Prosecutor Ruotolo said. “We owe them not only a debt of gratitude, but a helping hand, whenever it’s needed.”

The Prosecutor’s Office thanks Judge Advocate Boxwell and Cranford VFW Post 335 Commander Col. Drew Burns for hosting this event. For more information, call 908-527-4621 or email mspivey@ucnj.org.