A SOAR Story to RememberIn recognition that many people who were homeless did not make it through 2011, the SOAR TA Center staff wanted to share this story submitted by Walt Davis in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The work we do through SOAR can make the difference between life and death, but none of us can work in isolation from one another and neither benefits nor housing alone is enough. Let us all recommit to working together to end homelessness in 2012. Referred to me after being denied Social Security disability, “Joe” had lived the past 5 years in a tent in the woods near Klamath Falls, Oregon, and panhandled for money to buy alcohol. I know this because on his previous application for Social Security Disability, that’s what he wrote when asked “what do you do all day?” He was brutally honest about his alcoholism. Rarely did anyone bother to ask why he drank so much. When they did, he would tell them that it was the only way he could tolerate the auditory and visual hallucinations he suffered from daily. He once told me that the reason he got into so many fights was because he could not tell real people from hallucinations without taking a swing at them. If he swung and hit something, they were real. If he landed on his butt, they were not. Read more here. | |
Social Security Updates
Benefit Amounts for 2012
SSA has released benefit amounts for 2012, which include a slight increase. These can be downloaded from http://www.prainc.com/SOAR/toolbox/ under the SSA Info tab.
Documenting Disability in Young Adults
SSA published newly consolidated regulations for documenting and evaluating disability in young adults effective September 12, 2011. The published version of these regulations can be found at http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/di/01/SSR2011-02-di-01.html. It covers:
- Sources of evidence about a young adult's ability to work
- Considerations related to evaluating a young adult's impairment-related limitations
- Insured status for young adults
- Issues related to determining disability at each step of the sequential evaluation process
- Continued payments for persons participating in a vocational rehabilitation or similar program (Section 301)
- Resolving inconsistencies in the evidence
Compassionate Allowances (CAL)
Effective December 10, SSA added 13 new conditions to the list of those eligible for expedited adjudication. These conditions involve neurological, mental, and immune system disorders. The complete list of CAL conditions with new conditions highlighted in red can be found at htttp://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/.
Sharing Our Successes
SOAR News and Accomplishments
Connecticut
Congratulations to Paul Bushey from the New London SSA district office who was awarded the 2011 Ewell T. Bartlett Humanity in Government Award by SSA Commissioner Astrue for his sustained “outreach and services to the homeless citizens of Connecticut through the SOAR program and volunteer efforts in the community.” Congratulations, Paul. We’re glad to have you in Connecticut!
VA SOAR Coordinator
Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) now has a full-time State SOAR Coordinator, Latasha Howlett. Congratulations to Latasha and the State of Virginia!
Michigan
Michigan held its third annual SOAR celebration on October 21. More than 100 people attended to network, share strategies, and celebrate their personal successes and SOAR across the state. Keep it up, Michigan!
If you have a SOAR-related success story to share, e-mail klupfer@prainc.com.
Celebrating Our Collaborators
Yanic Amblard of Guidance Care Center in Key West, FL, told us about a homeless Vietnam veteran she assisted earlier this year. Diagnosed with combat PTSD, he had a lengthy history of mental illness, effects of exposure to Agent Orange and jungle rot. He was estranged from his family and had tried to handle his problems on his own for many years. At first, he didn’t trust Yanic or the agency psychiatrist. Using SOAR, Yanic helped him file an application for disability with SSA. During this time, Yanic contacted his sister in California (with permission). His SSI application was approved in 40 days (which is Yanic’s average time to decision for applications she’s assisted!). With his SSI check, he rented a room, adopted a “jolly fat cat,” as he puts it, and recently visited his sister in California.
Justin Kasdorf of Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization, Inc. (HALO) in Racine, WI, e-mailed us about a woman he assisted with an SSI/SSDI application recently. When he first met her, she would come to the shelter inebriated and completely unaware that staff was trying to help her. When she started at HALO, she stopped drinking as she began seeing a psychiatrist and was treated for her schizophrenia. For the first time in years, staff could joke and laugh with her. “It was awesome to see a smile on her face and to hear her laugh,” recalls Justin. After her SSI application was approved, she was reconnected with her family and moved back to Kenosha “where her heart is.”
If you would like to recommend someone to be acknowledged, please send their name, role and what they have done to support SOAR in your community to us at SOAR@prainc.com.
Upcoming SOAR TA Center Events
Webinars (Registration links will be posted on our website, http://www.prainc.com/soar. There is no charge):- Wednesday, January 25 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET. Identifying SOAR applicants.
- Wednesday, February 29 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET. Medicaid and SOAR. This topic is relevant to sustaining SOAR as well as health care reform.
- December 6 SOAR Webinar on involving peers and peer specialists in SOAR, listen to audio files and view slides at http://www.prainc.com/SOAR/library/webinars.asp.
The next Train-the-Trainer event is scheduled for June 5-8, 2012, in Minneapolis, MN. Contact your SOAR State Team Lead or soar@prainc.com for more information.
The SOAR TA Center is sponsored by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Disclaimer: The SOAR Technical Assistance Center develops and distributes E-News with support from SAMHSA, HHS. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of HHS or SAMHSA.
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