Innovation Thrives in the Non-Profit World

Check it out on the "Funders Together" blog website!

Protip Biswas, VP of United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness, highlights innovative practices in ending homelessness in the Southeast region and encourages non-profits to keep the innovative momentum.

http://funderstogether.org/blog/view/innovation-thrives-in-the-non-profit-world

The Power of Student Engagement - Atlanta, GA

Engaging our future leaders on the issues of homelessness is critical to building a caring community and over the last year, RCOH has continued to work with students from the elementary to the university levels in Atlanta.

Tamara Weinstein, 3^rd grade teacher at The Children’s School, continues to promote homelessness awareness and education with her students. After listening to the stories of three previously homeless individuals who have been successful in maintaining permanent housing, the third graders wrote letters to city officials about their ideas on how to address homelessness in Atlanta. Click here to read their letters.

Elizabeth Hearn, a middle school teacher from The Paideia School organized a homeless immersion where students lived on the streets for one week without shelter, money or basic necessities. They also produced a 30 minute documentary, “Reducing the Distance,” on how the intensive and educational experience changed their perceptions about homelessness and helped them to see that “[homeless people] are people, too, just like us.”

High school students from The Lovett School, participated in RCOH’s Street to Home outreach and Celebrating Success events. After learning about the challenges and hearing success stories of previously homeless individuals, seniors have taken on special projects around homelessness and the Student Services Board selected RCOH and Trinity Community Ministries to receive a generous donation.

Universities in Atlanta have also stepped up their involvement around homelessness. Georgia State University partnered with RCOH to offer their expertise in public relations, Emory University students also partnered with RCOH and other organizations for a spring break “Homeless Immersion” week. Inspired by Elizabeth Hearn from the Paideia School, sophomore Shyama Appareddy organized the five-day simulated homeless experience to raise awareness about the issue. “I wanted Emory students to have the opportunity to break out of the ‘Emory Bubble’ and reduce the distance between us and our neighbors in the greater community,” says Shyama. Kennesaw State University put on a Homelessness Awareness Week giving students and faculty an opportunity to learn more about the “invisible and stigmatized sector of society.” Computer science students from Georgia Institute of Technology have taken it a step further by creating a very useful database for RCOH’s Street to Home program.

This kind of meaningful engagement is what cultivates involvement that ultimately contributes to ending chronic homelessness in Atlanta. Discovering what homelessness means, and exploring ways that we can all become socially responsible, has made a lasting impact on these young people—the future leaders—in metro Atlanta.

Expediting the SSD/SSI Application Process through SOAR

By Rebecca Stoll

SOAR (SSI/SSD Outreach, Access & Recovery) is a SSI/SSD benefits application program targeted specifically to individuals experiencing homelessness. Donna Morgan of the Bridgeway Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida says the SOAR process is specifically designed to address the transient nature of homeless individuals. Two features make this program both unique and effective: the use of case managers as client representatives and the creation of “health narratives” which allow Social Security employees better understand the physical and mental health challenges of applicants.

Bridgeway clients have had significant success with the SOAR process, with the average turn around time being 60 – 90 days.

Through SOAR, homeless individuals work closely with case managers to complete their benefits application. The case manager becomes the client’s representative, acting as an alternative point of contact. The representative receives all notifications sent to the client, including letters and appointment confirmations.

The health narrative is created by the case manager, using worksheets provided by SOAR, and provides snapshot of the client’s disability and how it affects his or her functioning including everyday struggles. This narrative can be signed by a doctor and used as medical evidence.

Any social worker or counselor can participate in a SOAR training. To learn more about the program and find out when the next local training will take place, visit http://www.prainc.com/soar/ .

For those already using SOAR, Donna shares some tips:

• Get to know the employees at your local Social Security office – building relationships makes the communication process easierWhen faxing applications, always make sure the barcode is on top of the application stack

• Case managers should get their representative forms signed right away

• Case managers need to “stay on top” of application paperwork

• SSI/SSD applications are time consuming and can take up to 40 hours per case, so Donna recommends case managers only take on three to four cases at a time

To learn more about the Bridgeway Center, visit http://www.bridgewaycenter.org/ .