Veterans Transition House creates entire city block on the South Coast for homeless veterans

As a timely accomplishment to honor veterans this 4th of July, Veterans Transition House has acquired a multifamily house located at 17 Campbell Street, New Bedford. This is the first expansion of its housing capacity since the completion of a $10 million campus expansion in 2020. The purchase of 17 Campbell Street was made possible with financing from long-time community partner, BankFive, and with a grant from Foundation 214. This project increases the number of residential units for formerly homeless veterans to 85 and facilitates housing opportunities for veterans with children and female veterans that were previously unavailable within the residential properties owned by Veterans Transition House. The acquisition of 17 Campbell Street completes an entire city block of Veterans Transition House properties and creates a defined veterans’ campus to include the Anthony C. & Salvatore H. Alfiero Outreach Center across the street.  Veterans Transition House will make improvements to its new building and the campus to establish a consistent sense of place for veterans recovering from the trauma of homelessness and returning to independent living.

“We appreciate the opportunity to work collaboratively with the seller who, as a veteran himself, agreed that 17 Campbell Street was an important addition to the Veterans Transition House mission and master site plan,” stated Michael Nash who led this initiative. “This objective would not have been achieved without the BankFive team and our history of support including their support of the Veteran of the Year as title sponsor.”

“BankFive is proud to provide financing for the expansion of Veteran Transition House,” said Anne Tangen, President & CEO of BankFive. “The VTH has long been an integral pillar of our community, providing housing and support services for homeless veterans. We value working alongside community non-profits such as the VTH and look forward to continuing our partnership.” 

BankFive also awarded a $5,000 grant in support of the meals program and outreach services provided by Veterans Transition House and its Title Sponsorship of the 2026 Veteran of the Year Award and Dinner with an additional $5,000 contribution. The Veteran of the Year Award recipient is selected from nominations by the community that can be submitted via this link: https://www.vetshouse.org/veteran-of-the-year-application/. The mission of the Veteran of the Year Award is to recognize a Southeastern Massachusetts veteran for their outstanding contributions to veterans’ issues, and the community as a whole. The 2026 Veteran of the Year Award Dinner sponsored by BankFive will be held on Thursday, November 5th at the Century House. For table sponsorships and tickets visit https://www.vetshouse.org/veteran-of-the-year-reception/.

Julius Winan, a veteran served by Veterans Transition House stated, “My time here at VTH is the greatest opportunity and honor to be here. The staff and everyone that works here are absolutely amazing and the fact that they’re amazing is because they love what they do. They go above and beyond for each and every veteran that is here to aid in mental health, physical health, medical health, and everything. I couldn’t be more grateful and thankful every day that I wake up here and that I have an opportunity to get back on my feet and turn my life around.”

Founded in 1990, Veterans Transition House (VTH) has provided more than 3,600 Southeastern Massachusetts homeless veterans with transitional and permanent housing and comprehensive supportive services. Veterans Transition House now owns nine properties across New Bedford, consistently operating at 90% capacity and providing 26,500 bed nights annually. VTH prepares 18,000 meals and effectively assists veterans with employment and training opportunities to improve their economic independence.