Follow a “Day in the life” of SOAR, one of our littlest known programs that makes a big impact for people experiencing homelessness with mental health disabilities. SOAR Coordinator Mina Davis-Harrison and Disability Outreach Assistant Specialists Dave Ramsey and Natasha Legette facilitate the national “SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery” program for all of Baltimore City.

9 am

Mina arrives at 421 Fallsway and starts printing a stack of referral sheets. Today she and Dave will visit residents at a local shelter to see if they need assistance in qualifying for federal disability benefits. “To qualify for SOAR,” explains Mina, “you have to be homeless or at risk of homelessness, not earning gainful income, and diagnosed with a mental health disorder.”

9:30 am

Mina and Dave drive to the Westside Emergency Men’s Shelter, deep in the campus of Spring Grove Hospital Center, surrounded by green hills, hundred-year-old buildings and barbed wire fencing. Outside the facility we see the bright familiar colors of the Health Care for the Homeless Mobile Clinic, where Outreach Services Manager John Lane works his way through a sign-up sheet of residents seeking medical services.

10 am

John brings Mina and Dave into the shelter and introduces them to front desk staff. They’re led to the canteen, where half a dozen men sit, talking quietly or watching The Price is Right. “Good morning, everybody,” Mina says. She has gift cards for potential clients. “Our team helps people apply for disability benefits—if you’re interested, if you’ve applied and been denied before, please come and talk to us.” Many people experiencing homelessness with mental illness have already tried to apply for SSI/SSDI benefits. But the process to prove eligibility is long and complicated.

10:10 am

One man is immediately interested. He has trouble with his mobility, and he tells Mina and Dave that he last applied for SSDI in 2022. After a denial, you have 60
days to appeal before your case expires. “That’s okay though,” Dave says, “we can help you start a new application.” He’s also interested in reapplying for temporary disability assistance from the state. Mina sends him outside to John’s team, who registers him as a new client and arranges bus tokens to help him get to our Fallsway clinic.

10:15 am

Mina and Dave circle the canteen as men trickle in and out. They have an established rhythm to the way they explain the program. 

“I’ve applied ten times since I was 18, I’m 36 now,” explains one man. “This stuff is messed up.”

“The process, it sucks,” says Dave. “But what we can do is build a case for you.”

“Sometimes I just, I can’t…I get too mad, or manic or whatever, and I can’t keep a job like that.”

“See, that’s the stuff we include in your application,” says Dave. “All you have to do is show up,” adds Mina. “We might send you out for evaluations, but once we have all your information, we get all the paperwork together for you.”

10:30 am

Another man sits at the lunch table and tells Mina he was recently released from prison. “Last time I applied for SSI, they told me they couldn’t use records from DOC [Department of Corrections] even though I was getting psych treatment in there.”

“Well, that’s just not true,” says Mina. “You were receiving medication? Then you have documented history of mental illness.”

“I’m getting therapy here at the shelter,” he says, “but I’m not sure it’s with a licensed psych. I’ve gotten a bunch of diagnoses over the years; bipolar, PTSD, antisocial, whatever. I think I need to be reevaluated. And I wanna focus on getting clean.”

“That’s the good thing about HCH,” Mina says as they exchange contact info. “It’s really a one-stop shop; you can see a therapist, primary care, dental, start substance treatment. And even if there’s a problem with your records, we can have you evaluated by one of our doctors.”

11:15 am

Mina makes final rounds through the shelter and fills out as many referral sheets as she can. She and Dave check back in with John before leaving. “A lot of the outreach we do is on foot like this,” says Dave. “But it’s hard to know who is going to continue their case.” Mina says, “Even if I never see them again, once we get all their info, I can make sure their application is out the door.”

11:45 am

On their way back into the city, the team stops at the Baltimore Social Security Office. “I submit all our applications at least three ways,” says Mina. “Fax, email, and I drop them off in person. And still they get lost in the system.” The file she’s holding is one she’s submitted four times.

12:30 pm

Back at Fallsway, Mina and Dave break for lunch. They say hello to Natasha, who splits her time between the clinic and Spring Grove Hospital. All of the clients she sees are residents at the psychiatric hospital, often on a court-ordered stay. 

“What I’m working on right now is a Medical Summary Report,” Natasha explains. “This client is a white female; she’s been at Spring Grove for over a year.” Natasha details a long history of emotional abuse, neglect, and substance use in her summary. “She has four children who are living with a family member.”

“I’ve been here a year, and I’ve had six clients awarded their benefits,” she says proudly. “People just tell me their whole life story. That’s what I like best about the job—talking to clients, getting to know them, making them comfortable with me.”

2 pm

In the meantime, Mina has a message waiting for her—an internal referral. She calls to get more information and determines that the client is not eligible.

3 pm

Mina starts planning the next outreach visit to the Patuxent Institution, a Correctional Mental Health Center in Jessup. For inmates with severe mental illness, access to disability benefits could prevent them from becoming homeless upon release—something that’s 10x more likely for formerly incarcerated people.

4pm

The team works on the day-to-day administration of the SOAR program: checking the status of applications, sending medical records, updating tracking sheets. “It’s a bit of a ‘hurry up and wait’ game, unfortunately,” says Mina. It can take months to hear back about an application. But the SOAR team is persistent. “A lot of cases fall through the cracks when the applicant is experiencing homelessness,” Mina says. “The key word for what we do is advocate.”