Youth Shelters:

Y2Y Harvard Square

• 1 Church Street (middle entrance) Cambridge, MA 02138

• Phone: (617) 864-0795

• Y2Y Harvard Square (Y2Y), a student-run overnight shelter, employs a youth-to-youth model to provide a safe and affirming environment for young adults experiencing homelessness. Y2Y offers two kinds of stays, 30-night stays and 1-night stays. They only give away beds by lottery.

 

Bridge Home

• 90 Cushing Avenue Dorchester, MA 02125

• Phone: (617) 436 8600

• Bridge Home is a family-focused short-term crisis intervention and stabilization residence for children who have experienced trauma. the program serves 12 children, ages newborn to 12 years old. Many of the children who come to Bridge Home have witnessed violence and have experienced trauma. Bridge Home provides a thorough children and family assessment that provides the team with recommendations and services that will enable children to remain with their family, school and neighborhood whenever possible.

 

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

• 47 West Street Boston, MA 02111

• Phone: (617) 423-9575

• Emergency residence program is a short-term transitional residential program for homeless youth who are able to commit to intensive counseling, maintain employment, save 70% of their income, continue their education, and work with case managers to obtain long-term transitional or permanent housing. The transitional living program (TLP) is for 12 young men and women, ages 18-24. Residents are required to maintain employment, continue their education, meet weekly with a Bridge counselor, and work with case managers on reaching their goals. Residents have access to all of the services at Bridge; and may stay in the TLP for up to two years. Also offers an open-intake, voluntary transitional living program for pregnant and parenting homeless young women and their children- serves eleven families at any given time and they may stay for up to two years.

 

Emergency Shelters:

Mary Eliza Mahoney House Emergency Family Shelter

• 55 Dimrock Street Roxbury, MA 02119

• Phone: (617) 442-8800

• The Mary Eliza Mahoney House Emergency Family Shelter (MEMH), is a family shelter that accepts boys up to age 18 and male head-of-households. Residents may stay for up to 120 days. This housing program provides food, shelter for 26 families, health care, youth services, substance abuse and mental health services, along with referral services for education, training and housing, through pro-active case management for residents to regain their self-sufficiency.

 

Shattuck Shelter

• 170 Morton Street Jamaica Plain 02130

• Phone: (617) 983-0351

• Overnight emergency shelter and support for 120 homeless men and women each night. Guests receive two hot meals, showers, clothing, a clean bed, and support from counselors and nursing staff. Shattuck Shelter also provides assistance for guests who are struggling with addiction, legal, financial, mental health and physical issues.

 

Headed Home: Cambridge Shelter

• 479 Concord Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138

• Phone: (617) 864-8140

• An emergency shelter with capacity for 21 individuals that serves more than 85 men and women annually in a sober living environment.

Caspar Emergency Service Center and Shelter (ESC)

• 240 Albany Street Cambridge, MA 02139

• Phone: (617) 661-0600

• Clients receive medical and mental health care, nutritional food, personal hygiene supplies, clean clothes, counseling, case management, and employment, housing, and treatment referrals in an environment that is welcoming and safe. The ESC provides 24-hour shelter, 365 days a year to residents of Cambridge and Somerville.

 

Harvard Square Homeless Shelter

• 66 Winthrop Street Cambridge, MA 02138

• Phone: (617) 547-2841

• The shelter is open from 7PM to 8AM, except on Saturday mornings when it is open until 9AM. They lottery all 14-night beds. Callers may call in between 7:30am and 8:00am to put their name in the lottery at which point the caller will receive a lottery number. The lottery will be run between 8:00am and 8:05am. People may call back between 8:05am and 8:30am as well as between 7pm and 9pm to find out if their lottery number was picked.

 

College Avenue Adult Shelter

• 14 Chapel St. Somerville, MA 02144

• Phone: (617) 623-2546

• Serves 4 men and 4 women from the hours of 6PM to 9AM. The length of stay is 6 weeks with extensions available.

 

Women (and Children):

Woods-Mullen Shelter

• 794 Massachusetts Avenue Boston 02118

• Phone: (617) 534-7101

• The shelter serves female adults ages 18 years or older.  The shelter has 200 beds and is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  Beds are given out on a first-come, first-served basis.  In the winter months, additional overflow beds are available.

 

Rosie’s Place

• 889 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA 02118

• Phone: (617) 442-9322

• Rosie’s Place Overnight Program provides emergency shelter to 20 women for up to 21 days at a time. The Overnight Program is open 365 days a year to give a woman a warm, safe bed, and three meals a day.

 

Chamblet Family Home

• Phone: (617) 825- 8642

• An emergency family shelter in Dorchester for 14 homeless women who are pregnant or living with children which provides stabilization services.

 

ReVision Family Home

• Phone: (617) 825-8642

• An emergency family shelter in Dorchester for up to 22 homeless women who are pregnant and/or have young families. Residents also have access to the onsite Family Resource Center.

 

The Women’s Inn

• 363 Albany Street Boston

• Phone: (617) 892-9100

• Offers a safe place to sleep for 120 women each night, as well as recovery programs, health care and housing.

 

Project Hope Family Shelter

• 45 Magnolia Street Dorchester, MA 02125

• Phone: (617) 442-1880

• Offers a home for 11 single mothers and their children. Each family has a private room and access to a communal kitchen, dining room, living room and children's activity room. They receive assistance to find safe and affordable housing for their families and access to educational and workforce development programs. Our programming is designed to promote confidence and empowerment, helping women find the courage to prevail against tremendous odds to obtain a better life.

 

Men:

Pilgrims Church United Homes Shelter

• 540 Columbia Road Dorchester, MA 02125

• Phone: (617) 282-0456

• Offers shelter to 140 men every night.

 

Shelter at 112 Southampton Street

• 112 Southampton Street Boston 02118

• Phone: (614) 534-7101

• This shelter serves men only and beds are allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. At full capacity, the shelter holds over 400 nightly guests.  Men looking for shelter for the evening should go to Southampton Street Shelter, where they will be searched, screened and given admission.

 

The Men’s Inn

• 444 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118

• Phone: (617) 892-9100

• The Men’s Inn provides emergency shelter services to over 350 men each night. Guests typically receive a bed after meeting with a case manager, who will help them chart the next steps toward securing permanent or transitional housing, job training, substance abuse counseling or other needed services. Also offers guests two meals a day, shower and laundry facilities and a health clinic.

 

First Church Shelter

• 11 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138

• Phone: (617) 547-2724

• Each evening 14 men are provided with a safe, comfortable place to stay. Our guests have access to two meals, showers and personal storage facilities for their belongings. First Church Shelter also offers guests assistance with identifying and securing resources they need to move out of homelessness.

 

Families:

Portis Family Home

• Phone: (617) 522-3089

• A family sober living program with recovery support services in Jamaica Plain for homeless and very low-income men and women and their children, housing up to 8 families.

 

YMCA Families in Transition

• 316 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115

• Phone: (617) 927-8290

• Accommodates 55 adults and children. Offers a positive and dignified place where families receive assistance to build and create something positive and productive out of an unenviable situation.

 

Family Aid Boston

• 727 Atlantic Ave. Boston, MA 02111

• Phone: (617) 542-7286

• Upon arrive, the social workers conduct an initial assessment and provide crisis intervention for each family. Once families are in shelter, they work with them help to identify and address the problems that led to their becoming homeless. The program's goal is to have families housed or in the process of obtaining housing within 30 days of entering shelter.

 

Food Banks:

Crossroads Family Center

• 56 Havre Street in East Boston

• Phone: (617) 567-5926

• The Pantry is open every Sunday and Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00 PM.

 

St. Francis House

• 39 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116

• Phone: (617) 542-4211

• Offers a hot, nourishing meal. They serve breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. daily, and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 365 days a year.

 

The Paulist Center

• 5 Park St. Boston, MA 02108

• Phone: (617) 948-2428

• Offers lunch on Tuesdays from 1:30-3PM.

 

Haley House Food Pantry

• 23 Dartmouth Street Boston, MA 02116

• Phone: (617) 236-8132

• Thursdays, 10:30 am-11:30 am.

 

Clinic/HIV/STD Testing:

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

• 47 West Street Boston, MA 02111

• Phone: (617) 423-9575

• Bridge offers weekly free medical and dental services staffed by healthcare professionals from Healthcare for the Homeless and Tufts and Harvard Dental Schools at its West Street headquarters location.

 

Fenway Community Health Center

• 16 Haviland Street Boston, MA 02115

• Phone: (617) 267-0159

• Mon, Tue, Thu 1:00PM-6:00PM. Bring photo ID.

 

Boston Care for the Homeless

• 780 Albany Street Boston, MA 02118

• Phone: (857) 654-1600

• Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM.

 

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center Project SHINE

• 79 Paris St #1 East Boston, MA 2128

• Phone: (617) 568-4622

• Clinic offers free HIV and STD testing.

 

BAGLY Incorporated

• 14 Beacon St Suite 6 Boston, MA 2108

• Phone: (617) 227-4313

• Offers free HIV and STD testing.

 

Domestic Violence Shelters:

Sojourner House

• Phone: 401-765-3232

• Offers a Safe House (emergency shelter) which is in an undisclosed location and serves as immediate, safe, temporary housing for abused women and their children. Once there, advocates help residents work on their goals and provide emotional support for the duration of their stay, as well as follow-up care once they've moved to more permanent, safe housing. Our staff also provides information about domestic abuse, case management services, referrals, and educational programs. Each resident's length of stay at our Safe House depends upon her personal situation. Also offers a transitional housing program for victims of domestic violence and their children who are homeless or in need of transitional housing.

 

Elizabeth Stone House

• Phone: (617) 201-8415

• Offers both emergency domestic violence shelter and a transitional housing program. The emergency domestic violence shelter is a temporary program for those feeling domestic violence. The transitional housing program is an 18-month program for singles and families with a history of domestic violence, mental health issues, substance abuse and homelessness. Residents will receive case management, housing search assistance and financial management support as well as attend groups. 

 

Casa Myrna

• Phone: (617) 521-0100

• Offers three programs. The Mary Lawson Foreman Emergency Program provides shelter to up to 10 women and 13 children who have been made homeless due to domestic violence. The maximum stay for this program is 6 months. The Transitional Living Program (TLP) provides longer term housing for 6 women and 9 children who have been through emergency shelter and are still looking for permanent housing. A typical length of stay for this program is 12-14 months. The Teen Parenting Program (TPP) program is for pregnant and parenting teens who have been victims of abuse. This program serves 8 women and 13 children for about 12-14 months.

 

Finex House

• Phone: (617) 436-2002

• Finex House is shelter for battered women and their children; especially those who have disabilities and/or women who are trafficked. Some services that Finex House offers include emergency shelter, attorneys, housing advocacy, help moving, crisis intervention, child advocacy and support programs, special needs advice, emergency response, trauma support, day care, Sign Language, Spanish, Vietnamese, French and Haitian Creole spoken, self-esteem groups, parenting groups, mental health therapy, and substance abuse therapy.

 

Renewal House

• Phone: (617) 318-6010

• Offers individuals and families a place who are fleeing domestic violence. Offers emergency shelter, safety planning, in-house support groups, bilingual staff, advocacy services, pastoral counseling, leadership training, counseling, and referrals.

 

Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence

• Phone: (617) 338-2355

• The shelter can house up to 17 adults and children. This team provides assistance and referrals, enabling clients to rebuild their lives. Staff lead domestic violence support groups, parenting groups, house meetings, and other groups that focus on topics such as life skills. Additionally, staff meet with clients individually. Offers English-language and computer tutoring, as well as childcare and healthcare services. Shelter residents receive food, transportation, and other essentials. 

 

DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended)

• Phone: (614) 471-1234

• DOVE operates a 6-bedroom emergency shelter for victims and their children. While in DOVE’s shelter, program participants are supported to ground themselves after crisis or a period of homelessness, as well as to establish goals for their next steps. DOVE Advocates assist program participants to seek transitional and/or permanent housing, to connect children with school, and to access other needed supports.

 

Veterans:

New England Center and Home for Veterans

• 17 Court Street Boston, MA

• Phone: (617) 371-1800

• Offers various housing services. The emergency housing is temporary, but the Center’s staff will assist any Veteran to enter the transitional housing program or to find the appropriate services. The transitional housing offers help to facilitate success in finding and keeping housing, Veterans receive intensive case management, information, referrals and help with finding employment and housing. Offers a separate female transitional housing program and permanent housing on-site.

 

Boston Rescue Mission: Safe Haven Program

• Phone: (617) 338-9000

• The Safe Haven program is a 10-bed short-term transitional housing program for veterans with current substance abuse and mental health issues located in Dorchester, MA.

 

Substance Abuse:

Caspar: Men’s Residence

• 16 Highland Avenue Somerville, MA 02143

• Phone: (617) 623-5277

• Offers men over the age of 21 years old with a history of substance abuse or alcoholism a place to heal. Provides 42 men with 6-9-months residential treatment. Clients receive counseling and case management to build relapse prevention skills through the use of 12 Step Facilitation, Harm Reduction, and Motivational Interviewing Techniques.

 

Caspar: Womanplace

• 11 Russell Street Cambridge, MA 02140

• Phone: (617) 661-6020

• Womanplace is a 20-bed residential program for women in need of six months of gender-specific residential treatment in a safe and nurturing environment where they learn to live clean and sober. In addition to their substance abuse history, many women entering treatment have serious trauma and abuse histories as well as related mental health issues which need to be addressed. Womanplace staff provide on-site individual and group counseling and referrals to an array of social, medical, and mental health services in the community.

 

Caspar: Newday

• 242 Highland Avenue Somerville, MA 02143

• Phone: (617) 628-8188

• Offers a residential substance abuse treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women with their newborns. Offers a supportive, clean and sober treatment experience in an effort to improve birth outcomes for infants, and to support these mothers in leading a sober and healthy life. New Day offers on-site individual and group counseling, support groups, psychoeducational groups, legal assistance, and specialized services for at-risk infants, as well as referrals to support groups and social and medical services in the community. Women receive prenatal, OB/GYN and pediatric care as they learn to live and parent, alcohol and drug free.