Somerville Veterans Facility To Benefit From Over $200K In Grants

SOMERVILLE, MA — Jamaica Plain-based Volunteers of America of Massachusetts (VOAMASS) announced Wednesday that it has received over $200,000 in grants that will be used to expand services and finance facility upgrades at Somerville's Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center (MBVC).

Located at 2 North Street, MBVC is a transitional facility for homeless veterans that is managed by VOAMASS, a nonprofit that provides critical services to vulnerable people.

VOAMASS said the funding that will help MBVC comes from two grants from The Home Depot Foundation.

A Veterans Flexible Funding Grant of $150,159 will be used to expand the Welcome Home Project, according to VOAMASS.

The Welcome Home Project focuses on assisting veterans transitioning from MBVC into permanent housing by helping them obtain rental leases and household goods.

VOAMASS said the grant money will be used to create a veteran aid fund and to hire a housing coordinator, who will create individual housing plans for veterans transitioning to permanent housing, identify barriers and manage solutions to ensure veterans remain stably housed and connected to community resources.

Additionally, a $51,291 Veterans Housing Grant will cover half the cost of upgrading MBVC's security and HVAC systems, in addition to helping fund the purchase of automated external defibrillators, emergency medical devices that can save the life of a person in cardiac arrest.

"Two of the biggest challenges homeless veterans face are finding housing and receiving comprehensive, trauma-informed behavioral health care," said Charles Gagnon, president and CEO of VOAMASS, "These grants from The Home Depot Foundation will help ensure that MBVC is best positioned to provide the services and supports that our veterans deserve."