Income supports are a critical factor in recovery for people with behavioral conditions experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Having income and health care benefits is often a crucial first step to recovery and resiliency. Our work focuses on increasing access to employment and mainstream resources, including Social Security disability benefits and Medicaid and Medicare health coverage, for eligible adults and youth with serious mental illness, medical impairments, or co-occurring substance use disorders. We work with jurisdictions to develop partnerships among caseworkers, Disability Determination Services, the Social Security Administration, community providers, wraparound services, and employment services to sustain positive outcomes following an approved benefit application.
Income Supports
PROJECTS
SAMHSA SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) TA Center
This national project is designed to increase access to the disability income benefit programs (SSI/SSDI) administered by the Social Security Administration for eligible adults and children who are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness and have a mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.
Disability Determination Small Grant Program
This program, operated by PRA’s sister firm Policy Research, Inc., provided a one-year $10,000 stipend to graduate students to conduct research on improving the Disability Determination Process for the Social Security Administration’s two disability programs.
ARDRAW Small Grant Program
The Analyzing Relationships between Disability, Rehabilitation and Work (ARDRAW) Small Grant Program was a one-year $10,000 stipend program awarded to graduate-level students to conduct supervised independent research designed to foster new analysis of work, rehabilitation, and disability issues.
FEATURED RESOURCES
Policy Research’s Impact Reports
Each quarter, Policy Research publishes an impact report spotlighting our work across the country via our technical assistance centers, projects, and fee-for-service activities.
SOAR Online Course Catalog
The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center offers two free online courses that train case managers to assist individuals to apply for Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance, disability income benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration.
SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) Overview
The goal of the SOAR program is to end homelessness through increased access to SSI/SSDI income supports.