Housing, Healthcare, Mental Health, Children, and Jobs

The follow is a sample of Boston and Cambridge area shelters. This list is not comprehensive, and those searching for housing assistance in their area are also advised to search the United Way's Mass 211 Database.

View Boston/Cambridge Housing Resources on a Google map.

Cambridge Shelters

Typically open from Nov. 15 to Apr. 15. Some shelter beds are available on an emergency basis. To reserve a bed for one night in the shelter, call 1-888-656-3414 at 9:30 pm.  To reserve a 14-day bed, call 1-888-656-3414 at 7:30 am.  Call back at 8:05 am - 8:30 am or 7:00 pm - 9 pm to see if your number was selected.

66 Winthrop Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
1-888-656-3414

Map

Heading Home (formerly Shelter, Inc.)
99 Bishop Allen Dr.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-8140
Map

Hildebrand Self Help Center, Inc.
614 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-491-5752
Map

Multi Service Center For The Homeless
19 Brookline Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-349-6340
Map

Salvation Army Emergency Shelter
402 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-547-3400
Map

Other Boston-Area Shelters

Emergency Shelter Resources

City of Boston Emergency Shelter Resources has links to resources in the following areas: advocacy, benefits Information, domestic violence, ex-offenders, food assistance, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, housing, legal assistance, mental health, pregnancy resources, parenting resource for teens, seniors, shelters, street outreach services, substance abuse, veterans services, and youth services

For shelters in other Massachusetts cities, click here.

HomeStart

HomeStart is a non-profit organization whose mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston by assisting individuals in obtaining permanent housing and settling into the community, and by developing strategies to address systemic barriers to housing placement.

Boston HomeStart
Walk-in hours: Friday 9 - 11am
105 Chauncy St., Suite 502
Boston, MA 02111
617-542-0338
Map

Cambridge HomeStart
Walk-in hours: Thursday 3 - 6pm
678 Massachusetts Ave., #502
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-234-5340
Map

MassSave

MassSave is a public/private partnership to help Massachusetts residents find affordable energy for heating their homes.

Health Safety Net

The Health Safety Net is a program for Massachusetts residents who are not eligible for health insurance or cannot afford to buy it. The goal of the Safety Net is to make sure that all Massachusetts residents can get health care when they need it, regardless of income.

To be eligible for the Health Safety Net (Free Care), you must be uninsured or underinsured, with no access to affordable health coverage. People of any income with large medical bills that they cannot pay are also eligible. Your citizenship or immigration status does not affect your eligibility. You must be a resident of Massachusetts.

Call 1-877-910-2100.

MassHealth Limited

MassHealth Limited is emergency medical coverage for undocumented noncitizens who are not eligible for other MassHealth programs because of their immigration status.

Non-citizens who meet all of the eligibility requirements for MassHealth Standard except for immigration status are eligible for MassHealth Limited. You do not have to give or apply for a Social Security number to qualify, and your immigration status will not be reported to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Undocumented non-citizens may apply without fear of deportation.

Refugee and Immigrant Health Program

The mandate of the Refugee and Immigrant Health Program is to control communicable diseases among refugees and newly arrived immigrants and to improve the general health status of the Commonwealth's refugee populations.

MassHealth: Emergency Medicaid

If you are under 65 and want to apply for MassHealth, you must fill out a Medical Benefit Request (MBR) and send it, with proof of your household's income, to MassHealth. You can get an MBR by calling the MassHealth Customer Service Center

Health Care For All

HCFA seeks to create a consumer-centered health care system that provides comprehensive, affordable, accessible, culturally competent, high quality care and consumer education for everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

Call any of the following numbers:

• Consumer Health Helpline
  800-272-4232
• Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
  617-350-5480 x208
• MassHealth
  1-800-841-2900

Commonwealth Connector

An independent state agency that helps people find the right health plan and avoid tax penalties. Commonwealth Care is low or no-cost health insurance for people who qualify.

Mayor’s Health Line

The Mayor's Health Line is a free, confidential, information and referral service for health care in Boston open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

Call 1-800-847-0710 or 617-534-5050.

Psychiatric Care: Screening and Referrals

• Boston Emergency Screening Team (BEST): 1-800-981-4357
• Psychiatric Emergency Room at Cambridge Health Alliance: 617-665-1560
• Homeless Outreach Team (HOT): 617-626-8605

These organizations provide emergency psychiatric evaluations and referrals to further care, regardless of immigration status.

Physicians for Human Rights

Boston Center For Refugee Health And Human Rights at the Boston Medical Center

Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights
Boston Medical Center
771 Albany Street
Dowling 7
Boston, MA 02118
617-414-4794
Map

BCRHHR offers intake and screening of asylum seekers, forensic psychological evaluations, treatment, and referral. 

The Center is a member of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs and operates as an interdisciplinary collaboration among clinicians and experts from Boston Medical Center (Departments of Psychiatry, Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Social Work, and Interpreter Services), Boston University (Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Dentistry, and Law), Global Lawyers and Physicians, a non-governmental organization, and the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Victims Of Violence (VOV) at Cambridge Health Alliance

Central Street Health Center
26 Central Street
Somerville, MA 02143
617-591-6360
Map

Services offered by VOV:

• Crisis intervention and response (initial crisis assessment, treatment planning and episodic or time-limited crisis-focused psychotherapy) for acutely traumatized crime victims and their families
• Hospital-based and system-wide victim advocacy and support
• Longer term clinical care (psychological assessment, treatment planning and psychotherapy) for adult survivors of physical and sexual violence
• A wide array of groups, (including groups for adult survivors of childhood abuse and domestic violence and groups for parents, partners, siblings and children of murdered family members)
• Work to promote sensitive and skillful domestic violence prevention, detection.

Children's Trust Fund
55 Court Street, 4th floor
Boston, MA 02108
617-727-8957 or 1-888-775-4KID (4543)

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Child Care Referral Database (EEC) 
105 Chauncy St., 2nd floor
Boston, MA 02111
617-542-KIDS (5437)

Massachusetts Department of Children and Families
24 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02210
617-748-2000

Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate 
Call 617-979-8360 or 866-790-3690

Parental Stress Line

The Parental Stress Line is a telephone hotline for assisting parents with the stresses of raising children.

Call toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 1-800-632-8188

Shelters for Families

The shelters listed below require a referral from the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance. To apply for a DTA referral, call 1-877-418-3308. Please note that DTA requires that least one of the members of the family have a documented status in the United States in order to qualify for use of a family shelter.

Boston Family Shelter
656 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
617-267-8081

Bridge House
24 Baker Street
Lynn, MA 01902
781-593-3898

Cambridge YWCA Emergency Family Shelter
3 Bigelow St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-491-6055

Children's Services of Roxbury
520 Dudley St.
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-445-6655

Casa Nueva Vida
53 Glen Road
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-524-6332

Crittenton Hastings House
10 Perthshire Road
Brighton, MA 02135
617-782-7600

Crossroads Family Shelter
56 Havre Street
East Boston, MA 02128
617-567-5926

Cross Street Family Shelter
59 Cross Street
Somerville, MA 02145
617-776-6661

Families in Transition
316 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-927-8290

Family House Shelter
250-252 Columbia Rd.
Dorchester, MA 02121
617-427-4470

Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center
614 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-491-5752

Lifehouse
145 Stoughton St.
Dorchester, MA 02125
617-491.5752

Margaret's House
90 Cushing Ave.
Dorchester, MA 02125
Intake center: 617-436-8600

Mary's House/Bristol Lodge Family Shelter
62 Church Street
Waltham, MA 02152
781-647-9957

Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership
125 Lincoln St., 5th floor
Boston, MA 02111
617-859-0400

Millennium House
471 Dudley St.
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-438-0081

Nazareth House
91 Regent Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-541-0100

Project Hope
45 Magnolia Street
Dorchester, MA 02125
617-442-1880

Queen of Peace
401 Quincy Street
Boston, MA 02125
617-288-4182

Joelyn's Family Home
38 Fabyan Street
Dorcester, MA 02124
617-825-8642

Roxbury Family Shelter (Salvation Army)
23 Vernon Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-427-6700

St. Ambrose Family Inn
25 Leonard Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
617-288-7675

Sojourner House
85 Rockland Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-442-0590

SPIN (Serving People In Need)
20 Wheeler St.
Lynn, MA 01902
781-598-9417

Temporary Home for Women and Children
254 Broadway
Boston, MA 02114
617-720-3611

Tri-City Family Shelter
350 Cross St.
Malden, MA 02148
781-322-9119

US Office Of Refugee Resettlement

The US Office of Refugee Resettlement website has links to various organizations and government services available to refugees seeking employment.

Additional Resources

• Boston Career Link: 617-536-1888
• Career Collaborative: 617-424-6616
• JobNet: 617-338-0809
• Moving to Work: 617-573-1208
• Project Hope: 617-442-1880
• Strive: 617-825-1800
• The Work Place: 617-737-0093