Our Services
Since 2009, The Veterans’ Place has provided supportive housing and programs to homeless veterans throughout Northern New England. Committed to delivering the highest quality of care, we offer a fresh start for servicemen in need.
Structured Transitional Housing
Our case managers are sensitive to the lived experiences of Veterans and trained to recognize underlying symptoms of trauma or anxiety that might be driving substance use and other barriers.
Our program is one of the few, if only, transitional housing programs in the region that has the experience and willingness to welcome homeless Veterans coming out of a Residential Rehab Center, a psychiatric or medical stay and even off the streets. We provide recovering veterans with a safe haven while trying to gain stability.
We are able to accept Veterans discharged from the hospital or rehab as long as their medical and personal care needs do not exceed the ability of our staff. Residents are provided supplemental rehabilitation care by an organization such as Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH), the regional visiting nurse association, or other healthcare organization.
Each resident at our facility has an individualized service plan by identifying their barriers to help them meet their goals for ending homelessness. This plan focuses on applying for housing, identifying areas of financial instability, accessing mental and medical health care as well as substance use disorder counseling and numerous other supports. Transportation to the VA for care is provided as well as encouragement for finding employment and/or increasing income through disability. Our life and housing case managers work closely with each resident to help him meet his goals.
Simultaneously, housing forms are filled out and sent in for approval, disabilities ratings are assessed and resubmitted for increases, and employment options are explored in the area where the resident wishes to reside.
Our home is fully handicapped accessible, including an elevator accessing all three floors.
Meals and Other Services
We are the only program in Vermont that provides access to free, nutritious food every day to residents.
We have an experienced full time cook. He maintains FDA nutritional guidelines and provides weekly menu plans, often in coordination with our residents. In addition, the Veterans’ Place has access to the VAMC Registered Dietitian to ensure our meals meet the specific dietary needs of all residents, including those with dietary restrictions.
Utilizing the Veterans’ Place van, we make, on average, three trips each week to the VA Medical Center in White River Junction for scheduled appointments. Trips are also made to the VA on an “as-needed” basis— sometimes up to twice daily and on weekends—for emergency care. In addition, we provide trips to the social security office, housing offices, employment offices, and Veteran Affairs offices within Vermont, as well as to heath/dental appointments and local shopping venues.
In 2024, our two vans drove over 55,000 miles.
Our staff are either onsite or on-call 24 hours a day, seven days per week, and are well-trained in policies and procedures for handling safety and security issues.
Navigating Medical Needs
All resident’s needs are assessed at intake, and appropriate supportive services are offered. This may include connecting them to community services, such as visiting nurses, to ensure that after surgery or illness they can return to the Veteran’s Place to recover.
Once residents are working on their physical and/or mental health, we continue to prepare them for transition by offering case management and supportive services at each step in their journey toward independence.
We also help find outside providers for those Veterans who need assistance with self-care in areas such as personal hygiene, healthy eating, taking medications as prescribed, and housekeeping. As our Veteran population ages, we also monitor each individual’s ability to live independently.
When necessary, Veterans who can no longer live independently at TVPI due to adverse health conditions are transitioned to a higher level of care. The Veterans’ Place is not equipped to provide the advanced level of nursing and hospice care these men require.
Each resident has access to a personal safe in their room to secure their medications, which are given to them in a weekly supply. Their bottles of medications are locked in a med cabinet in a locked med room.
Wellness Support, Guidance, and Accountability
Each resident has a voice in our community and a role to play in operating and maintaining their housing. We strive to make the Veterans’ Place feel like a home, not a shelter, or an institution. Every resident is assigned household chores consistent within his ability. Our communal living and homelike atmosphere encourage residents to help each other with tasks such as cleaning their rooms and preparing meals, as well as socializing. Residents also volunteer within the TVPI and Northfield communities.
Our program meets as a community three times per week, during which residents freely offer suggestions, raise concerns, and work to support each other. These meetings also provide a venue for residents to learn of volunteer opportunities, for the coordination of rides and drivers, for scheduling needs, and for procedure and policy discussions.
Our staff maintains an open-door policy for those residents reluctant to speak in a group setting. We value our residents’ perspective and include both former and current residents as full voting members of our Board of Directors, thereby allowing them to participate in making the highest-level decisions affecting the residence.