Suffolk County

As of 2022, there were 15,748 veterans living in Suffolk County, including 1,849 women veterans. This page includes local event listings and directories of veterans’ services; veteran outreach centers; VA clinics and Vet Centers; community behavioral health centers; peer recovery support centers; elder services; posts and auxiliaries; peer recovery meetings; and veteran owned businesses, along with census, VA spending, and public health data for Suffolk County. 

 
 

All events in Suffolk County are tagged #greater-boston and #boston-metro. When you submit events, include the relevant tags and the name of the town in the event listing so they show up in the relevant calendars.

Executive Office of Veterans’ Services

The mission of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) is to act as the primary advocate on behalf of all the Commonwealth’s veterans. The Office provides outreach and support through various programs.

EOVS offers assistance to eligible veterans and their surviving spouses through the MassVets Financial Benefits Program. Veterans may use the Mass Vet Benefit Calculator to see what they may qualify for and contact their local veterans’ services office below to apply.

HSNHC Veteran Outreach Center

The Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center’s Veterans Outreach Center in Dorchester welcomes veterans with a range of vital services including access to city, state, and federal veteran benefits, primary care and behavioral health services, health insurance navigation, and links to housing support and legal services. Schedule an appointment online or call (617) 825-3400.

New England Center & Home for Veterans

The New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV) is located in Downtown Boston and offers supportive services to veterans throughout the region to enable success, meaningful employment, and dignified independent living. NECHV is available to serve veterans of all ages and eras. Veteran seeking services can click here for more information and call (617) 371-1800 anytime.

VA Healthcare System

Veterans in Suffolk County are served by the VA Boston Healthcare System with the West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain VA Medical Centers, the Causeway VA clinic, and Boston Vet Center located in Boston. Anyone who has served in the military is encouraged to apply to determine their eligibility and Priority Group. Some veterans are exempt from co-pays due to their VA rating, income, or special eligibility factors.

Community Behavioral Health Centers

Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) are one-stop shops for mental health and substance use services and treatment. The network includes two centers in Suffolk County in Boston 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.

Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line

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.

Peer Recovery Support Centers

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 six centers in Suffolk County located in Boston.

Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline

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.

Elder Services in Suffolk County

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.

MassOptions is a service of the Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) that can also help older adults, people with disabilities, and family members or caregivers identify aging and disability services and connect to those that can meet their needs. Call (800) 243-4636 or click here to complete a referral.

Suffolk County Veterans Posts & Auxiliaries

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 Essex County.

Twelve-Step Recovery Meetings in Suffolk County

Twelve-step recovery programs meet online and in public settings to guide individuals in their recovery and generally have a general spiritual foundation, encouraging participants to look to a higher power, however they define it. The directory below links to 12-step programs by city/town.

Veteran Owned Businesses in Suffolk County

This Veteran Owned Businesses directory is based on publicly available information and listings of veteran owned businesses in Suffolk County. Click here to submit a business or update information.

Veterans in Suffolk County

If you serve veterans and are trying to learn more about their demographics, you can explore the most recent ACS 5-year estimates from Census Reporter for cities and towns in Suffolk County at the links below. Based on the ACS 5-year estimates, there were 15,748 veterans living in Suffolk County as of 2022, including 1,849 women.

  • Based on the 2020 ACS data, Suffolk County’s veterans were the most likely to live below the poverty line.

    • Suffolk County has the smallest proportion of veterans, who made up 2.7% of the population.

    Suffolk County had the youngest and most diverse veteran population with:

    • the smallest proportion of veterans who identify as white and not hispanic or latino (66.9%);

    • the largest proportion of veterans with service since the 1990 Gulf War Era began (40.2%);

    • the largest proportion of veterans under age 55 (35.5%);

    • the largest proportion of veterans who identify as black or African American only (18.6%); and

    • the largest proportion of women veterans (9.4%).

    There are substantial differences in lifetime earnings by educational attainment. Although veterans Northeast Region counties were more likely to have graduated high school and to have completed some college or an associate’s degree, they were less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to non-veterans.

    Veterans in Suffolk County were less likely to be in the labor force and less likely to be employed if they were compared to non-veterans. In inflation adjusted dollars in 2020:

    • Suffolk County was the only county within the Northeast Region where male veterans earned more than non-veteran men.

    • Women veterans in Suffolk County earned more than non-veteran women in all counties within the Northeast Region.

    • Women veterans in Suffolk County earned less than male veterans. The biggest gap was in Suffolk County, where women veterans earned $5,082 less on average than male veterans.

    Click here for a breakdown of the 2020 American Community Survey estimates for for Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex Counties in Northeast Massachusetts.

  • Based on the 2021 ACS 1-year estimates, there were 12,167 veterans in Suffolk County, including 1,153 women veterans. Almost 66% of all veterans in Suffolk County (6,787 veterans) and nearly 21% of women veterans (242 veterans) were over age 65. To view the 2021 ACS data, visit the following links to the Census Bureau’s website:

    Almost 38% of Suffolk County veterans (4,609) reported having any disability. Based on the 2021 ACS data, there were 2,457 service-connected veterans in Suffolk County.

    • Around 82% of Suffolk County’s disabled veterans in poverty (266) were over age 65.

    • Around 67% of all disabled veterans (3,083) in Suffolk County were over age 65.

    Although only 7% of Suffolk County’s disabled veterans (324) experience past year poverty in 2021, around 44% of the veterans in poverty were disabled. 

    At least 67% of the service-connected veterans (1,652) reported having compensable disability ratings, compared to 85% reported in Essex County and 87% reported in Middlesex County.

    Veterans with service in the Vietnam, Korea, and World War II eras are over age 65, which included over 57% of all “wartime” veterans (4,704) in Suffolk County in 2021.

    The number of WWII era veterans in Suffolk County increased from 365in 2021 to 543 in 2022.

    • Around 82% of Suffolk County’s disabled veterans in poverty (266) were over age 65.

    • At least 57% of Suffolk County’s wartime veterans are over age 65.

    • Around 6.5% of Suffolk County veterans in poverty over 65 (48) did not report a disability.

  • You can explore the most recent American Community Survey census data specific to Suffolk County veterans with interactive maps and tables via Census Reporter, such as by age, gender, and veteran status, median incomes, service era, and service-connected disability based on data at the city and town and county level with 5-year estimates (most reliable).

  • 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:

Information referencing veterans by age, disability and poverty status below is only available at the county level for Suffolk County with 1-year estimates (most current), which was used for the charts below. Around 8% of veterans in Suffolk County fell below the poverty line (1,251 veterans); around 63.5% of these veterans had a disability.

Based on the 2022 ACS 1-year estimates, around 4,398 veterans in Suffolk County had a disability. Based on 5-year estimates, there are 3,776 veterans with a disability considered by VA to be service-connected in Suffolk County. At least 77% of these veterans were receiving VA compensation benefits based on their rating (2,906 veterans).

Whether or not a veteran has time during a “wartime” service era determines in part whether a veteran (or their survivor) is potentially eligible for the VA pension. Very low income wartime veterans over age 65 may be eligible for the pension whether or not they have a qualifying disability. Veterans with service in the Vietnam, Korea, and World War II eras are over age 65.

VA Spending in Suffolk County

According to the GDX Report, VA spending in Suffolk County increased from $375 million in fiscal year 2021 to $385.2 million in fiscal year 2023 and included:

  • $214 million on medical care for 5,433 unique patients in 2023 ($39,298 per patient), compared to $218.6 million for 5,781 unique patients in 2021 ($37,822 per patient);

  • $119.3 million in VA compensation and pension benefit payments in 2023, compared to $99.3 million in 2021; and

  • $28.2 million for education benefits and vocational rehabilitation and employment services, compared to $26.8 million in 2021.

Suffolk County Public Health Data

The U.S. Center for Disease Control’s Suicide Prevention Strategies for Communities support the implementation of a public health approach that uses data to drive decision-making. Massachusetts does not publish comprehensive data surrounding the deaths of service members and veterans. The chart below includes toxicology data for suicide deaths overall in Suffolk County.

From 2015 to 2022, opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions in Suffolk County steadily declined, with opioid prescriptions nearly halving—from 476.7 to 239.6 per 1,000—a sharper drop compared to other counties. Benzodiazepine prescriptions significantly decreased, while stimulant prescriptions rose sharply, similar to other areas. Partial opioid agonist use also peaked in 2019 before stabilizing.

Suffolk County had a notable increase in marijuana and antidepressant involvement in suicides, particularly from 2018 to 2021, alongside a steady rise in alcohol involvement. Suffolk County had distinct polysubstance use patterns, with alcohol and marijuana frequently combined with antidepressants in suicides, which was a more pronounced combination compared to other areas.

These trends underscore the need for a comprehensive public health strategy focused on prescription monitoring, mental health care access, and harm reduction. Addressing the rise in stimulant use and polysubstance combinations involving alcohol, marijuana, and antidepressants is crucial to reducing suicide risks in Suffolk County.