Caspar Shelter

CASPAR’s Emergency Service Center in Cambridge is one of three shelters in Massachusetts that accept homeless people who are actively using alcohol and drugs. It provides shelter 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to residents of Cambridge and Somerville. Guests receive medical and mental health care, nutritious food, personal hygiene supplies, clean clothes, counseling and case management in an environment meant to be welcoming and safe.

Staff also provide referrals for employment, housing and treatment. The shelter is run by CASPAR, short for Cambridge and Somerville Programs for Addiction Recovery, a community-based nonprofit founded in 1970. Its founders spearheaded the decriminalization of alcoholism in Massachusetts in the early 1970s, on the view that people with substance use disorders need treatment, not incarceration. Its programs share a commitment to non-judgmental, person-centered care for people struggling with substance use, wherever they are on the road to recovery.

What to Know

• CASPAR has been part of Boston-based Bay Cove Human Services since July 2014.
• CASPAR’s First Step Street Outreach team canvasses Cambridge and Somerville every evening with meals, clothing and weather gear.
• The Cummings Foundation selected CASPAR as a Sustaining Grant recipient.
• The shelter is listed by the Central Square Business Improvement District.