Off the Cambridge Veterans’ Department’s main office is a filing room, a space now unnecessary in the age of digitized files and records. The space is now being given new life, as a place where veterans can visit, connect with members of the department, and take part in veteran-led workshops and programs.

The visiting aspect of what’s being called the Veterans’ Life and Recreation Center is actually more critical than it may first sound, according to Jeremy Halsdorff, manager of benefits and services for the Veterans Department.

“In order to work with somebody and to make sure that they understand I am on their side – and that I’m not the VA specifically – we have to build a certain amount of trust,” Halsdorff said. “The fact of the matter is this: a fair amount of what we do stems around mental health issues, and you don’t want to sit across from me and tell me that you suffer from a particular problem. … You don’t want to tell someone you don’t know.”

Making a space where veterans can spend time – especially homeless veterans who do not have a place to go while overnight shelters are closed during the day – creates the opportunity for firsthand interactions between those who may be in need of services and members of the department. That familiarity can help built trust and make veterans more likely to seek help from the department when they need it, Halsdorff said.

The interactions don’t need to be focused on veteran services, he said. Much of the trust-building involves conversations, for example, about the Boston Red Sox. These conversations could take place in the office, but there they can pull department members away from people who are in more immediate need of help.

“With this space right over there, if there’s a guy or two in there talking about the Red Sox, I can go in and be a part of it, but it doesn’t have to happen in my office where I’m trying to work with someone else,” Halsdorff said. “I want [veterans] to come visit, I want them to come visit often, and I can cycle through, [Director] Neil [MacInnes-Barker] can cycle through, and we can have conversations with them.”

“It’s nice if veterans can hang out,” he said, somewhere other than the VFW over a beer.

The department also plans veteran-led workshops and classes that will take place in the space, covering topics like financial literacy, life coaching and more, which will seek to support families of veterans as well.

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