New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans

Who We Are

The Vietnam Veterans Workshop d/b/a the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans (NESHV) is a substance-free, not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating a one-stop service center to empower homeless veterans to address the issues leading to homelessness and unemployment and to gain the tools to move toward independent living. We are located at 17 Court Street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts and are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, serving both men and women veterans. Take a photo tour of the shelter here.
In 1989, the Vietnam Veterans Workshop acquired a ten year lease on the former Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in downtown Boston's financial district, through Title V of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Act and with assistance from concerned friends and volunteers. The 140,000 sq. ft., ten-story building offered the space needed to expand the programs and services that the Workshop staff and volunteers had initiated and developed.

In 1990, the Workshop opened NESHV, the nation's first and largest veteran-specific homeless shelter and was recognized as the 142nd "Point of Light" by President George H.W. Bush's administration. NESHV offers a wide range of services through five distinct programs and support services: Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Single Room Occupancy Apartments, Training and Employment, and Health Care and Case Management. Each of these services assists veterans in solving the problems that led him/her to homelessness. Many of the staff and board are fellow veterans who understand and help their comrades back to recovery. Since opening our doors, we have provided aid to more than 12,000 veterans.

In 1993, the Shelter's innovative training programs were recognized and expanded. The Shelter, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Affairs, received a $650,000 grant from the United States Department of Labor, to initiate its new Veterans Technical Training Institute, known as "Vet Tech." Retired General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and current Secretary of State, delivered the commencement address for the first class of graduates from the Automated Accounting program.

Over the next several years, the Shelter continued to expand its capacity and services with help from a $4.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1995, the Shelter signed a quitclaim deed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a 30-year lease of the facility at 17 Court Street, with acquisition at the end of the 30 years. In 1996, the Shelter established the Lt. Pamela D. Donovan Women's Residence, a ten unit women's dormitory subsequently expanded to accommodate 16 women. The dormitory provides a sleeping area complete with lockers, computer room, lounge and bathroom facilities for homeless female veterans.

In 1997, NESHV created a Dual Diagnosis Program (Project Access) through an award received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the City of Boston. The program is designed to support the needs of veterans with substance abuse dependency, mental illness, and/or severe behavioral disorders. Project Access allows us to provide a special supportive program that includes clinical case management, vocational rehabilitation services, access to psychiatric services/psycho-pharmaceutical evaluations and supported permanent housing options.

Also in 1997, the Shelter completed a $2.5 million renovation project: the Congressman John Joseph Moakley Veterans Quarters, composed of 59 single room occupancy permanent housing units located within the Court Street facility.

In 1999, we completed the renovation of a new kitchen and dining hall, enabling us to serve more than 600 meals a day and improving the learning environment for Vet Tech culinary art and baker students.

In 2000, Irish Tenor John McDermott dedicated the Hope McDermott Day Program Center, a newly-constructed annex of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Named in honor of his mother, Hope, the McDermott Day Program Center was established to reach out to veterans who are chronically homeless and who are the "hardest to service" of the homeless veterans community. The McDermott Day Program Center provides counseling and living-skills instructions to these veterans, and ensures that their basic needs (food, clothing, health care) are satisfied.

In 2001, the Chaplain Vincent R. Capodanno Veterans of Foreign Wars MOH Post 1700, the first homeless shelter VFW post in the nation, was established at NESHV in an effort to foster camaraderie between homeless veterans and the larger veteran community. Post 1700 was named after Chaplain Vincent Capodanno, of Staten Island, NY, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Known as the "Grunt Padre" because he ministered to the men facing the fiercest fighting, Capodanno was killed while administering last rites and tending to the wounded on a battlefield in Quang Tin Province in Vietnam on September 4, 1967. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."

In 2002, we refurbished our Emergency Shelter to improve living conditions for our veterans as they start the reintegration process. This project also incorporated a new 30-bed post-detox stabilization program providing intensified support for veterans going through the delicate early stages of sobriety.

In 2003, NESHV received a $750,000 Life Safety Grant from the VA for updating the facility to meet VA standards. Also in 2003, an American Legion post was opened within the Shelter.

In 2004, a clinical psychologist was added to the staff to initiate a process of incorporating state-of-the-art practices into the client service programs of the Shelter. Also, a Wireless Technology was added to the curriculum of Vet Tech.