The George W. Bush Institute’s Veteran Wellness Alliance is a coalition of veteran peer-to-peer networks and best-in-class mental and brain health care providers who connect veterans, service members, their families, caretakers, and survivors to high-quality care for their invisible wounds.
Q&A with Michael Allard, Chief Operating Officer
1. Please tell us about Home Base’s mission and its goals that guide your work today?
Home Base’s mission is to heal the invisible wounds of war for veterans, service members, families, and families of the fallen – regardless of era of service, discharge status, or ability to pay. Every day, our goal is to ensure that no veteran or family member struggles alone. We do this by leveraging one of the best academic medical centers in the country – Mass General Brigham – and deliver world-class clinical care, pioneering research, and wellness programs that address the full spectrum of mental health challenges, including post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, depression, and co-occurring substance use. We fly service members, veterans and families into Boston – where Home Base’s National Center of Excellence is located – no matter where they live in the world and all at no cost. We also have clinical and performance wellness programs in Florida, Arizona, and Texas and are helping our allied countries in Ukraine and Australia to stand up new innovative models of care. What guides our work is both urgency and responsibility: urgency because the need is so great and responsibility because we owe this care to those who have served.
2. Home Base was founded through a partnership with the Boston Red Sox. How did that relationship take shape and lead to the creation of the organization?
Following their 2004 and 2007 World Series victories, Red Sox leaders, players, and representatives from Mass General visited wounded veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Deeply moved by that experience, the Red Sox sought to make a lasting commitment to serve veterans and their families. Then, in 2009, the Red Sox saw an opportunity to make a lasting impact off the field and partnered with Mass General Brigham to create Home Base as the nation’s first private sector clinic dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of war. At that time, stigma, lack of access, and limited treatment options were keeping far too many veterans from getting the help they needed. That partnership remains core to who we are – the Red Sox gave us our “Home Base” and our platform, and Mass General Brigham gave us the clinical excellence that defines our care.
3. As a founding staff member of Home Base, how have you seen the original vision for Home Base upheld and strengthened over the past 16 years?
The vision from day one was simple but profound: ensure veterans, service members, their families and families of the fallen have access to the best care in the world for the invisible wounds of war. Sixteen years later, that vision not only endures but has grown stronger. We’ve expanded nationally, established intensive clinical programs that draw veterans from all 50 states, built family support programs, advanced groundbreaking research, and reduced stigma through education and community outreach. What has never changed is our unwavering commitment to meet veterans where they are and to remind them that healing is possible.
4. What are some of the signature programs or services Home Base provides, and how do they uniquely support veterans, service members, and their families?
One of our programs is the two-week Intensive Clinical Program, which provides veterans with years’ worth of evidence-based care in a condensed, healing environment. We also offer outpatient care, specialized programs for families and children, comprehensive wellness and fitness initiatives, and training for clinicians nationwide to expand the reach of high-quality mental health care. What makes these programs unique is our whole-family approach, our ability to treat co-occurring conditions like traumatic brain injury and substance use, and our commitment to ensuring no one is turned away due to cost. We see the veteran not just as an individual, but as part of a family and community that also deserves care.
Looking to the future, Home Base is broadening our mission to heal the invisible wounds of our nation’s heroes by addressing the wider range of exposures that they face from their service, including toxic exposures, repetitive blast injuries, other debilitating physical traumas. Our new HealthSpan approach is designed to empower veterans to lead healthy, productive lives. We envision a performance-based approach to detect and prevent chronic health conditions due to exposure, relieve and productively manage pain and sleep challenges, and overall thrive mentally and physically to set the ideal conditions for a purpose-driven life.
5. Since Home Base’s founding, how has the culture around mental health among veterans and service members evolved, and what gives you hope for the future?
Over the past 16 years, we’ve seen a real shift: More service members and veterans are open to seeking help; leaders within the military are speaking openly about mental and brain health, and the stigma, while still present, is diminishing. Peer networks, initiatives like the Veteran Wellness Alliance and increased public awareness are helping change the conversation from one of silence to one of strength. What gives me hope is the courage of the veterans and families we serve. Every time someone walks through our doors and takes that first step toward healing, it sends a powerful message: You are not alone, and there is a path forward.
