Boston volunteers plan to ‘thank a vet’

By Beth Treffeisen | November 5, 2015, 15:37 EST

World War II veterans and brothers Tommy Mazzareilla (Marine Corps), left, Phil Mazzareilla (Navy), center, and Henry Mazzareilla (Army) enjoy the ’40s music of the Liberty Belles at a 2005 commemoration of World War II at the Charlestown Navy Yard in 2005. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org)

Hundreds of volunteers will scour Boston Saturday and Sunday, knocking on veterans’ doors to personally thank the men and women who have served in the U.S. military and alerting them to aid and other resources that may be available to them.

Each volunteer will get specific addresses of veterans and will receive packages to hand deliver to them, according to a statement from City Hall. The city has called for more volunteers to help in the effort. Those wishing to participate can sign-up at boston.gov/veterans.

“I am proud of Boston’s strong tradition of honoring out veterans, and appreciate all of the volunteers who have already come forward to donate their time,” Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement about the canvassing. “There is no better way to celebrate Veterans Day than to personally thank the veterans in our city who served our country.”

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, the city organized a meeting with 60 homeless veterans at the Pine Street Inn, off Albany Street in the South End, to help them find permanent housing. The meeting was part of Boston’s “Homes for the Brave” initiative, which since last year has housed 484 homeless vets, according to a statement from City Hall.

When the drive began, there were 414 homeless veterans in the city, and half of them spent six months or more in shelters, according to the city. It says there are 457 vets in the city each night without a place to sleep. While new homeless veterans continue to show up needing assistance, today 70 percent of them move into permanent housing in less than six months.

Contact Beth Treffeisen at [email protected]