New England Center and Home for Veterans

Vickie Chevrette

They will do everything to help veterans to get homes. Wonderful people staff friendly and helpful.

Michael McLeod

The sad truth about NECHV is that the center does not assist Veterans. To elaborate on that aspect their staff refuses to even attempt to assist Veterans who are transitioning back to civilian life, let alone care for Veterans who are suffering from numerous physical ailments and/or mental illnesses. It consists of an untrained but more so unqualified staff that is overly aggressive as well as detrimental towards proactive Veterans. I specifically say unqualified due to the fact that janitors & security alike, who are here on work visas, are given the authority to disrupt & displace Veterans at their will, depending on the mood they are in on any particular day. Additionally other employees, albeit case management workers or medical “professionals” are entirely absent from & uncommitted to doing their jobs. On a regular (if not routine) basis I witnessed elderly Veterans suffer from falls, seizures, panic attacks, schizophrenic episodes and so on as I frantically informed staff about the severity of the situation & their sole solution was to hand out (unmonitored) medication & perform a repetitive spiel of “try to get some rest & we’ll check on you tomorrow at 10AM” while promptly dismissing Veterans. To caveat on that several Veterans have caches of medication by the box & can not properly care for themselves. This is evident even more so in the amount of ambulance calls which occur daily & nightly. Unfortunately during my stay here I had seen Veterans who with a myriad of disabilities whos only interaction with staff consisted of signing per diem paperwork to secure finances for their center, as said Veterans were left untreated, even after innumerable injuries & instances. It’s beyond evident & immensely disheartening that there is no type of structure in regards to their roles as employees, from the directors & case managers let alone the rank & file staff members partially interacting but in no way impacting Veterans here. I spent under three months here (while working two jobs in effort to obtain finances for my new apartment) and was recently kicked out for asking one of the janitors along with other staff members too clean up and/or move some of the alcoholics, drug addicts, career criminals & felons who reside inside their building (who were passed out on the front sidewalk & obstructing my entrance to the building) along with the broken glass, liquor bottles, drug paraphernalia, et cetera surrounding them since they were directly compromising my safety. Their employees informed me “not to worry about it” as I explained to their front desk staff of the importance of the situation. Following that incident approximately 1 hour later a janitor called me aside & conveyed to me that I needed to leave the center. I was not only denied access to that building & additionally I was told that I could not pick up any of my belongings either. They directly compromised my safety & inevitably cost me one of my two jobs since staff resfused to allow me to pick up my uniforms & other pertinent belongings such as my wallet, my keys for work & other conducive items to include but not certainly not limited to clothing, phone charger & essentially all my daily items which were needed to conduct my job & more importantly go about my daily life. Thereafter I was told for three days in a row to “come back tomorrow” for a board of review, with each time ending up in a we need to reschedule for tomorrow solution by their staff. On the third day I was contacted by a VA Liaison letting me know that my options were to go to pine street inn or a rehab center in Quincy which I found beyond odd considering I have no involvement with drugs & even wilder not so much as a parking ticket on my record. This center needs to be investigated immediately for mistreatment of Veterans, misappropriation of funds, criminal coordination & a whole host of other urgent issues. It’s rampant with unjust treatment & wrongdoing while no one bats an eye at reoccurring incidents as the police log & medical reports will show. This place is a disgrace to Veterans.

Richard Glavin

This center has changed a lot over the last few years. As a former client, resident, and employee of this center, I can see the difference so easy. No longer do you have to wait a long period of time for housing. This place, along with it's case managers and housing staff, strive to help veterans achieve what has eluded them in the past. They really do want to end the cycle of homelessness. I am proud to say I am about to have my own apt because of them. Keep up the good work. There are many more veterans who want nothing more than to stand on their own two feet again.

Mark Kendall

I was staying at the Parker House Hotel at $340.00 per evening in 1997..I was having difficulty with alcoholism and asked GOD to help me. I left my posh hotel room within five minutes after my prayer and walked into the shelter where I was welcomed with such compassion and understanding. I stayed ten days and have not found it necessary to take another drink since that time. I will always honor and respect the Men I met during that time. I hope and pray that the Men who enter the facility today realize and listen to the blessed instructions of the Men who are there to help other brother Veterans. Remember......you have to do the footwork. Best, Mark K.