SOAR Overview
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SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is a program, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and designed to increase access to Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI/SSDI), for eligible adults who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.​
How Does SOAR Work?
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Case managers receive SOAR Training to learn how to complete and submit a thorough SSI/SSDI application packet
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A state or community establishes a SOAR Process for the submission and processing of SSI/SSDI applications
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State & Local SOAR Team Leaders support SOAR-trained case managers and keep stakeholders engaged
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The SOAR TA Center provides the Technical Assistance needed to keep the SOAR effort moving forward
Why Use SOAR?
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Using SOAR to assist with Social Security Benefit acquisition increases the rate of initial approval for applications while greatly decreasing the length of time it takes to process an application. Applications for Social Security benefits not utilizing SOAR have an average processing time of 12 months and an overall initial approval rate of 23%*, while applications utilizing SOAR have an 88% initial approval rate (2020 Virginia SOAR Initial Application outcomes) and 107 day processing time.
SOAR Works Virginia
SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is a program designed to increase access to Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI/SSDI), for eligible adults who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.
Georgi Fisher
Virginia SOAR Lead
Georgi Fisher works for the Office of Community Housing at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, where she is a project administrator for $70 million in permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing homelessness and living with serious mental illness. Additionally, she oversees benefits processing for Commonwealth of Virginia facilities, supportive housing, and community pre-release programs. Georgi is an expert in system coordination and system change, with a specific focus on building systems to address barriers in benefit acquisition and housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. Georgi serves as a Technical Expert on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA’s) SOAR Expert Panel and as the Virginia Lead for the SAMHSA SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) Program.
*Social Security Administration. (2016). Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2016/sect04.html