LEWISTON — A new health clinic for veterans will help treat medical conditions, but Worcester, Mass., based Veterans Inc. hopes its housing program goes a bit deeper.

“It’s for people who have honorably served our nation and for one reason or another, find themselves in a position that they need support,” said Vincent Perrone, president and founder of Veterans Inc.

His company bought the former St. Joseph’s School at 393 Main St. last month and plans by next year to turn it into 11 apartments for transitional housing for homeless male veterans.

“It doesn’t just mean it’s for people who are recently discharged,” Perrone said. “This could be a World War II veteran who meets the criteria; he could live there. Someone who just came back from Afghanistan, he could live there, or Vietnam or Korea or Desert Storm. It doesn’t even have to be a combat veteran. As long as they served honorably, we can help them.”

Veterans Inc. operates seven veterans’ housing developments in Massachusetts and Vermont. They range from an 85-bed men’s and women’s intake shelter in Worcester to a 10-bed transitional complex in Bradford, Vt.

This would be the company’s first property in Maine. The Lewiston shelter would be for men only, Perrone said.

The proposed complex would have beds for 20 veterans, in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with room for programs and training.

Perrone said it would be a two-year program for veterans who are having a difficult time adapting to post-military life. Services will include support and training, including emotional support and job counseling.

“For up to two years, they are going to get a myriad of services,” Perrone said. “Say you haven’t had a driver’s license for some time. That’s going to be a challenge for you because you need transportation to find employment. These are all things we can help with.”

That could include finding temporary transportation, help getting a new license and help finding work.

“When a veteran comes in, the first thing we do is an assessment of mental and medical health, and legal issues and determine what the veteran needs to help them get stabilized,” he said. “We don’t run just a housing program. We believe in supportive services for all of our veterans. So depending on the needs, we have a program for support.”

That doesn’t include alcohol and drug counseling, however.

“Our programs are completely dry,” he said. “If a veteran is actively using, he must go through a detox program and be cleared before he can come to us.”

Perrone said the company hoped to hire a contractor to help renovate the school this fall, with work wrapping up later in 2013. He expects most of the clients to be referred from the new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Lewiston.

St. Joseph’s School was one of three Lewiston parochial schools closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in 2006. The school opened in 1881 and had 180 students in kindergarten through grade eight when it closed in 2006.

The building and grounds are valued at $480,000, according Lewiston tax records.

staylor@sunjournal.com