The New England Center for Homeless Veterans welcomes all homeless veterans who have an honorable or general under honorable military discharge, from all wars and conflicts. We especially welcome our OEF/OIF veterans, who may be homeless for the first time. Our professional and dedicated clinical staff helps them to find solutions to their problems. Under the umbrella of Clinical Services, a variety of treatments and best practices are provided to homeless male and female veterans. All veterans who enter our Center must be willing to stay clean and sober, be able to provide self care, and be able to follow our rules and regulations. Depending on their individual needs, veterans participate in one or more of our transitional programs. Individualized treatment plans, which are developed between the veteran and the assigned case manager, provide a roadmap from homelessness to independent living. Kristine DiNardo, a licensed mental health clinician, is the Director of Clinical Services at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. In this video, Kristine provides a description and overview of who our veterans are, and what led them to NECHV for support and assistance.

• Addictions Services Program
For those veterans suffering with substance dependence, we have a six-month intensive Addictions Services Program. This program is designed to provide a long term, clean and sober environment. Here, veterans can learn new life skills and coping strategies to overcome their dependency on drugs and alcohol. The goal is to establish and maintain total abstinence while increasing their knowledge of the disease and the process of recovery.


• Case Management Program
Our Case Management Program provides a variety of services designed to assist veterans moving from homelessness into permanent housing, or housing that best suits their individual needs. These services include support and counseling, assistance with obtaining or increasing income and benefits to which veterans are entitled, employment, housing, referrals to other NECHV programs and community resources. Case managers provide whatever it takes to assist each veteran in working through the complex issues and barriers which contributed to their homelessness in the first place.


• Project Access
This highly specialized, dual diagnosis program, addresses mental health issues and addictions. Clinical case managers provide supportive counseling and all of the case management services listed above. The goals are mental health stabilization and maintaining sobriety while working towards permanent housing. The Project Access clinicians also provide therapeutic groups to all Center clients, including: Expressive Arts, Anger Management, and informational groups on Social Security Disability. One of the clinicians specializes in combat and childhood-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and is our designated case manager for this population.

• Special needs programs
We have two special needs programs, which are collaborations between NECHV and the Veterans Administration. Our Senior Services Program provides specialized services for our veteran population age 65 and older. Our Bridges Program provides clinical case management and two years of intensive follow up services to our veterans with chronic and persistent mental illness. Our two specialized teams consist of case managers, social workers, nurses, a rehabilitation specialist, and our housing specialists.

• Stay-In Program
We provide rehabilitative activities and additional support for those veterans who have severe medical conditions and physical or psychological disabilities. Recreational activities are planned through this program, and are open to all Center residents.


• Housing Program
Our housing staff assists Center clients to achieve their housing goals, by identifying available housing vouchers, special needs housing programs, and private market apartments. Our housing staff works closely with our clients and their case managers, assisting with various housing applications and procedures, repairing credit and legal issues, and obtaining furniture. Through our Rental Assistance Program, we provide first and last months rent and security deposits to our qualified Center residents. Follow up contact is made to ensure that each veteran is settled into his/her new community, and to assist with any additional housing issues or problems which can lead to future homelessness.


• Model Apartment Program
Our Model Apartment is a three-month temporary housing program which provides the skills and training needed to obtain and maintain permanent housing in the community. Two clients are selected to live semi-independently in our two bedroom apartment, which is located in our building at 17 Court St. This new construction has a full kitchen, living area, and is fully furnished. During their time in this apartment, the two residents receive intensive housing assistance, continued case management services, budget management, and other instructional training that will help them to move into independent living and to prevent future homelessness.


• Veterans Health Center
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) provides basic onsite services in our Veterans Health Center including: medical care, medical education, and emergency triage to our Center residents. NECHV is one of 80 locations that BHCHP provides quality health care and medical services to within the homeless population throughout greater Boston. In addition to medical care, the Health Center also includes an onsite eye clinic, HIV and STD testing, a foot clinic, and assists veterans in obtaining health insurance benefits. A Wednesday evening walk-in clinic provided by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, under the supervision of Dr. Bruce Levy, is offered to all veterans free of charge.