MGL Chapter 115 requires each town/city have a veterans’ agent to administer these benefits, but two or more contiguous towns can also appoint someone to serve as veterans’ agent and form Veterans’ Services Districts.

Veterans in Southeast Massachusetts are served by the VA Boston Healthcare Systemand VA Providence Healthcare System with a VA hospital, four VA clinics, and three Vet Centers located in the region. Some veterans are exempt from co-pays due to their VA rating, income, or special eligibility factors. Anyone who has served in the military is encouraged to apply to determine their eligibility and Priority Group.

The directory below includes VA-accredited representatives, agents, and attorneys based in Southeast Region cities and towns from the VA Office of the General Counsel’s Accreditation Search Tool as of July 2024. The VA provides accreditation to ensure VA claimants receive qualified assistance preparing and presenting their claims in accordance with VA Standards of Conduct.

Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) are one-stop shops for mental health and substance use services and treatment. The network includes 12 centers in Southeast Massachusetts offering immediate, confidential care for mental health and substance use needs. CBHCs are open daily for walk-ins, routine appointments, and crisis care, including Mobile Crisis Intervention.

CBHCs are closely connected to the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL). The BHHL is a 24/7 clinical hotline staffed by trained behavioral health providers and peer coaches who offer clinical assessment, treatment referrals, and crisis triage services. Staff directly connect callers with the nearest CBHC when appropriate.

The Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline is staffed by a dedicated team of harm reductionists and people with lived and living experience with overdose. The hotline is not a recovery or treatment helpline; it connects people using drugs with trained operators who can call for help in case of overdose. It is available to anyone at risk of overdose.

Peer Recovery Support Centers (PRSC) in Massachusetts are free accessible peer-led spaces that provide individuals in recovery from substance use, as well as their family members and loved ones, an opportunity to offer and receive human connection, community inclusion, peer support, and access to non-clinical resources. There are 11 centers in the Southeast Region.

Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) are private, non-profit agencies established under MGL Chapter 19A. ASAPs provide direct and protective services, including information and referrals; interdisciplinary case management; intake and assessment; developing, implementing, and monitoring service plans; reassessing needs; and investigating reports of elder abuse and neglect.

Councils on Aging (COAs) are municipal agencies that provide local outreach, social and health services, advocacy, information and referral for older adults, their families, and caregivers. COAs and Senior Centers serve as advocates and links to support services for elders, families, and caregivers. They offer outreach, transportation, meals, health screenings, health insurance counseling, and life-long learning, social, fitness, wellness, and recreation activities.

Norfolk and Plymouth County have Veterans’ Treatment, Mental Health, and Recovery Courts. Recovery Courts are also available in Bristol and Barnstable County. The Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts, an initiative of the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court, aims to bring innovative, evidence-based, and equitable interventions to Specialty Courts.

Veterans’ Treatment Courts are court-supervised, treatment-focused collaboratives designed to handle criminal cases involving defendants with a history of military service through a coordinated effort among the veterans services delivery system, community-based providers, and the court.

Veterans’ treatment court sessions aim to improve public safety while dealing with underlying issues of PTSD, TBI, and MST.  Abstinence from drugs/alcohol, mandated treatment, swift accountability, and weekly interaction with the court is required. There are two VTCs in the Southeast region:

• Norfolk County – Dedham | Referral Form | Brochure

• Plymouth County – Brockton | Referral Form | Brochure

Recovery Courts, also referred to as Drug Treatment Courts and Drug Courts, address the behavioral health and social support needs of adults involved with the criminal-legal system. Recovery Courts are designed to assist court-involved people in their path toward recovery from substance use and away from unlawful behavior. The District Court operates sessions in the Southeast region in:

• Bristol County – Attleboro | Fall River | Taunton

• Barnstable County – Barnstable | Falmouth

• Plymouth County – Brockton | Hingham | Plymouth | Wareham

• Norfolk County – Quincy

Mental Health Courts, also referred to as Recovery Courts and Recovery with Justice, address the behavioral health and social support needs of adults involved with the criminal-legal system. Mental Health Courts are designed to increase access to mental health treatment for court-involved people and assist them in their path away from unlawful behavior. The District Court operates sessions in:

• Plymouth County – Plymouth

• Norfolk County – Quincy

On March 31, 2022 convened a collaborative of organizations providing support, assistance, or programs along the South Shore:

There are many great Veteran coalitions across the state of Massachusetts, as well as smaller segmented groups across the South Shore.We hope you can join us and help us create a South Shore coalition full of resources, shared knowledge, and networking opportunities that will be advantageous to Veterans from Quincy down to the Cape.

Organizations will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and the services they provide, and to network with other organizations and the Veterans Employment Representatives from the MassHire Career Centers in Quincy, Plymouth, the Cape, Brockton, New Bedford, Attleboro, Fall River, and Taunton during meetings.

For more information, contact any MassHire Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist in the Southeast:

• MassHire South Shore (Quincy): Joe Robinson, (857) 262-5885

• MassHire Cape & Islands: James Gouzias, (617) 780-0349

• MassHire Greater Brockton:James Schmit, (617) 429-4668

• MassHire Greater New Bedford:Matt Sutton, (774) 285-3099

• MassHire Bristol (Taunton): Erin Campbell, (617) 595-8080

The Veterans Posts and Auxiliaries directory includes information about the VFW and American Legion Posts, Marine Corps League Detachments, and DAV Chapters based in cities and towns in the Southeast Region.

The Veteran Owned Businesses directory is based on publicly available information and listings of veteran owned businesses in Southeast Mass. Click here to submit a business or update information in the listing.

Tables for period of military service, service-connected disability, veteran status by educational attainment, age by veteran status and employment, and median income by gender and veteran status are available at the county and city and town level with 5-year estimates (most reliable). Age by gender and veteran status is available, including with racial iterations:

• 5-year estimates: White alone, Black or African American alone, American Indian or Alaskan Native alone, Asian alone, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone, some other race alone, two or more races, White alone and not Hispanic or Latino, and Hispanic or Latino.

Age by disability by veteran and poverty status and sex by age by employment status with armed forces is available at the state and county level for Bristol, Barnstable, Plymouth, and Norfolk County only with 1-year estimates (most current).

In October 2023, the US Census Bureau released the most recent 2022 data from the Annual Business Survey, which includes information at the state level on veteran-owned businesses within:

• Company Summaries and Characteristics of Businesses tables by industry, sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status and Characteristics of Business Owners tables by Service-Disabled and Other Veteran Characteristics.

• Module Business Characteristics tables by industry, sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status, including Effect of Coronavirus on Business Sales, Level of Operations During Coronavirus Pandemic, Level of Operations During Coronavirus Pandemic, and Outstanding Debt.