SOAR+Technical+Assistance+Project

SOAR Technical Assistance Project for Sonoma County Technical Assistance from the SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) Initiative with SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) was awarded to the Sonoma County Continuum of Care on March 4th, 2015. SOAR is a program designed to increase access to SSI/SSDI for //eligible adults* who are homeless or at risk of homelessness// **and have a mental illness and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder or other medical impairments. With its roots in a 1993 one-year demonstration project in Baltimore, MD, the** SOAR Technical Assistance (TA) Center **has been funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) since 2009. The SOAR TA Center coordinates the implementation of state and local-level** SOAR Programs **at no cost to the communities it serves.**

The Sonoma County Continuum of Care, in partnership with SAMHSA, held the SOAR Forum and Planning Meeting on June 24th, 2015. This all day event was vital in creating an initial action plan and receiving input from over thirty stakeholders in Sonoma County. The SOAR Working Group will begin meeting on a monthly basis on July 22nd, 2015 and a Steering Committee will be developed as part of the process.
 * SOAR Planning Forum - June 24th, 2015**

The Forum Agenda, notes, and Action Plan can be found here:

Additional tools and resources that were disseminated at the meeting can be found below:

SOAR works in the following four ways:
 * 1) Case managers receive **SOAR Training** to learn how to complete and submit a thorough SSI/SSDI application packet
 * 2) A state or community establishes a SOAR Process for the submission and processing of SSI/SSDI applications
 * 3) State & Local **SOAR Team Leaders** support SOAR-trained case managers and keep stakeholders engaged
 * 4) The SOAR TA Center provides the **Technical Assistance** needed to keep the SOAR effort moving forward