281 Franklin Street
Springfield, MA 01104
413-731-0194

History of the Agency

History of the Agency gomez3.jpg

The Bilingual Veterans Outreach Centers of Massachusetts, Inc. was started under the name Puerto Rican Veterans Association. The Agency held this name from July 1, 1987 until March of 2012. The office in Boston opened on July 1, 1987. The offices in Springfield and Worcester opened on August 17, 1987. Mr. Gumersidno Gomez became the Executive Director in January 1988 and assumed this position from the Springfield office. The Boston and Worcester offices were closed.


In 2006, the association opened an outreach center in Boston called Cpl. Zayas Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center which closed its doors in December 2018.


In March of 2019 an outreach center was opened in Pittsfield called Pittsfield Veterans Outreach Center on 106 Wendell Ave. In August they had relocated to 505 East Street Suite 103. The Centers are two of nine Outreach Centers in the Commonwealth.


The Centers have a professional staff that will work with you. The case managers/VVA VSO’s are veterans just like you. The Bilingual Veterans Outreach Centers of Massachusetts, Inc. provide a cordial and friendly atmosphere. We help the Veteran and family members as well. If you take the time to get the evidence needed to support your claims, we’ll do all that we can do to get that claim approved. The program is designed to develop trust and security within you.


The memories of war still bother some veterans but we can help you alleviate some of those inner conflicts by providing peer counselling or referring you to professional counselling. We care about Veterans and will do whatever we can to make life easier for you. This is our way of saying thank you for your service to our country.