If you are in need of emergency shelter, the Department of Housing and Community Development has homeless coordinators who may be able to help you and your family. You can apply for emergency assistance over the phone or in person.
Consumer Hotline: 617.727.8400,
Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Location: 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, New Market Square, Boston, MA
Eligibility information, listing of statewide locations, and contact information.
Phone: 617.573.1106
Location: 100 Cambridge St, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02114
Location: 73 Buffum Street, Lynn, MA 01902
Boston Family Transitional Assistance Office
Address: 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02118
Phone: 617-989-2200
Chelsea Transitional Assistance Office
Address: 80 Everett Avenue, Chelsea, MA
Phone: 617-551-1700
Services: Transitional living, clinical therapist and referral, community resources, job training, life skills, children's programs, affordable housing; facility open 24 hours
Capacity: 12 families
Restrictions: Women and children only
Admissions Process: Must be eligible for Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) Emergency Assistance
Phone: 617-265-2965
Email: mtompkins@brookviewhouse.org
Address: 2 Brookview Street. Dorchester, MA 02124
Mary's House Family Emergency Shelter This family shelter provides temporary housing in Waltham for up to four months for seven homeless families.
Referral is required through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Emergency Assistance Program.
Address: 62 Church Street, Waltham, MA 02452
Phone: 781 647-9957
Email: maryshouse@mhsainc.org
Sojourner House has provided shelter to hundreds of families and, at full capacity, is able to accommodate up to 9 families. Families are referred to the shelter from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
Phone: 617-442-0590
Address: 85 Rockland Street, Roxbury, MA 02119
Services: Victory Programs operates 17 health and housing programs in Boston, Cambridge and Topsfield, MA
For a complete listing of health and housing programs, visit the VPI website, or contact Tammy Simmons-Dixon, Director of the Victory Housing Division:
Phone: 617-282-4102 x374
Email: tsdixon@vpi.org
Bristol Lodge Women’s Shelter. Provides temporary, emergency shelter accommodations for twelve homeless adult women.
Queen of Peace Shelter. Emergency shelter for women and children. Meals, clothing and medical care are provided.
New England Center and Home for Veterans
75 Amory Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02119
(857) 399.1915 x 2424
mtamanaha@jri.org
The safehome program is a free, confidential, short-term (1-5 nights) space provided either by hotels or trained volunteers in their homes for a short amount of time. Our safe homes are located across the greater Boston area and offer a safe place to get started on the next course of action.
Phone: 617-742-4911(voice)
TTY:617-227-4911
**First we will ask about your immediate safety. Once this has been established, we begin the intake process, which takes approximately 30-45 minutes.
Trans women inclusive. 22 Beds. Can stay long term. First come, first served. 24 hrs. Regis Nurses/ Health Care Without Walls. Self-referred. Four to a room. Curfew 9:00 pm (except for job). Can stay in room during day. Other services available.
Phone: 617.442.9322
Location: 889 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02118
In case of immediate danger due to domestic violence, please call 911.
SafeLink’s is a state-of-the-art technology that allows the counselor answering your call to keep you on the line while you are being connected to a shelter program in your area. This way, the person in danger will get help with a single phone call rather than having to call different shelters across the state.
You will notice that most shelters helping survivors of domestic violence do not list their addresses online. This is done to ensure the safety of their residents. The best way to go about finding a shelter is to call the SafeLink Hotline.
Services: Emergency shelter and transitional living for women and women with children; legal and children's advocacy, crisis intervention, on-site Healthcare for the Homeless nurse, dental care, LGBTQ services, facility open 24 hours
Capacity: 6 rooms/18 beds in emergency shelter; 9 rooms in transitional program
Admissions Process: Any referral; women usually come from other emergency shelters
Length of Stay: 1 year
24 Hour Hotline: 617-471-1234 or Toll Free: 1-888-314-DOVE (3683)
Office Phone: 617-471-1234
Address: P.O. Box 690267, Quincy, MA 02269
Services: Emergency shelter and therapeutic community program for women and children fleeing domestic violence; transition from emergency to temporary housing; facility open 24 hours
Capacity: 2-3 women with children in emergency shelter; 15-16 people in therapeutic community program
Restrictions: Women and children only
Admissions Process: Self referred
Length of Stay: 2 months in emergency shelter; 5 months in community program
Office Phone: 617-427-9801
Address: P.O. Box 300039, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Services: Emergency shelter for women and/or women with children
Capacity: 32 people
Languages: American Sign Language, Spanish, Vietnamese, French, and Haitian Creole
Restrictions: Women and children only
Admissions Process: Self, hospital, shelter, police, social worker, and agency referred
Length of Stay: 1-3 months
Hotline: 617-288-1054
Office Phone: 617-436-2002
Address: P.O. Box 1154, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Services: Emergency, transitional and permanent affordable housing with supportive services; case management and group support; safety planning; advocacy; facility open 24 hours; 24-hour hotline
Capacity: 3 single women and 2 women with children
Languages: Spanish
Admissions Process: Any referral
Length of Stay: 2 weeks
24-Hour Crisis Hotline: 617-884-9909
Office Phone: 617-884-9799
Email: harborcov@harborcov.org
Address: P.O. Box 505754, Chelsea, MA 02150
Services: Emergency shelter for women and women with children
Capacity: 11 or 12 emergency beds
Restrictions: Restricted to women, girls of all ages and boys under 5 years old
Admissions Process: Self-referred; line up at 4:00 pm. Open from 4:30 pm –9:00 am
Length of Stay: Residents can keep a bed for 3 weeks, but if they miss a night, the bed goes to someone else who needs it
Phone: 617-288-4182
Address: 401 Quinn Street, Dorchester, MA 02125
Services: Emergency shelter; safety planning; advocacy; counseling; referrals for job training, legal assistance and educational programs; facility open 24 hours; 24-hour hotline
Capacity: 2 rooms for single women, 3 for women with children
Languages: Spanish
Admissions Process: Self, shelter, social worker, hospital, police, agency referred. Must call ahead.
Length of Stay: 3 months
24-hour confidential hotline: 617.566.6881
Address: 10 Putnam St., Roxbury, MA 02119
The Animal Rescue League of Boston offers several community health programs for pets to bring high quality, low-cost veterinary care to Boston communities. Services include spay/neuter, a mobile veterinary unit, and community vaccine clinics.
The MSPCA provides several free and low-cost spay/neuter programs throughout Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Animal Coalition
The Massachusetts Animal Coalition created an easy-to-read map allowing you to locate providers around the state offering low cost spay/neuter surgery.
SpayMass Hotline: 978-465-1940
Email: info@massanimalcoalition.org
MSPCA-Angell volunteers reached out to Massachusetts food pantries to help families find pet food (dogs and cats). The pantries most likely to have pet food are listed here; contact your local food pantry to ask about pet food if you don’t find a convenient one in the list. Please note that most food pantries do not have pet food except when it is donated to them.
Address: MSPCA-Angell Headquarters, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130
Phone: 617-522-7400
Merwin Memorial Free Clinic for Animals
Merwin Memorial Free Clinic for Animals, Inc. provides free office visits and free outpatient veterinary services, including routine physical examinations, nail cutting and recommendations for how people can best care for their animals. Treatments and preventative medicines are available at reduced rates. Please note that the clinic does not accept appointments. Visitors are helped on a first-come, first-served basis.
Address: 542 Cambridge Street, Allston, MA 02134
Phone: 617-782-5420
This directory offers links to locations where you can obtain pet food, emergency veterinary care, and wellness care, as well as shelters that accommodate pets.
Phone: 755-841-7463
Email: info@petsofthehomeless.org
Safe Place for Pets offers a directory of on-site housing, off-site housing, and community programs for people and pets who need a safe escape from domestic violence.
Phone: 916-429-2457
Email: info@redrover.org
