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Find answers to frequently asked questions.

Question:
What is the PATH Program?

The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program is administered by the Center for Mental Health Services, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). PATH is a formula grant to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are nearly 600 local organizations that provide PATH services. PATH provides services to people with serious mental illness, including those with co-occurring substance use disorders, who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

PATH and SOAR programs directly complement each other’s work and nearly half of the SOAR State Team Leads are also the State PATH Contacts. The PATH program’s objective to connect individuals to mental health services and stable housing is more easily accomplished when people who are homeless have access to the income and health insurance that comes with Social Security benefits. SOAR provides PATH case managers the tools necessary to expedite access to these benefits, resulting in improved housing and treatment outcomes.

Read more: PATH and SOAR Overview

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Question:
I saw SOAR training on our Continuum of Care (CoC) application. Should my CoC get involved with SOAR?

Absolutely! The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care Program (CoC) plays a key role in ending homelessness in communities and states. HUD’s description of the program includes: “The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness” (emphasis added)

SOAR is critical in HUD’s mission to promote access to Social Security disability benefits for individuals with disabling conditions. This access helps promote housing stability and prevents future homelessness for these individuals. As a result, SOAR should be included in local CoC plans to end homelessness.

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Question:
How can I get our local hospital involved in our SOAR effort?
Question:
Is there any place to find a completed sample of the SSA-8000-BK?

Yes, you can find samples of completed SSA forms here.

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Question:
When submitting an online SSDI application, how do you identify it as a SOAR application?

You can type "This is a SOAR application" in the Remarks section.  You should also indicate whether the applicant is experiencing homelessness and any other clarifying remarks. 

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Question:
What happens if you forget to put SOAR in remarks before you submit the online disability form?

If you forget to enter “SOAR” in the remarks sections of SSA forms, they may not be directed to the SOAR liaison at your local SSA office (if one has been identified). However, there are other ways you can indicate that the application was completed using the SOAR model, even after you have submitted the online disability report:

  1. Ensure that SOAR is written in the remarks section of the SSA-8000 (SSI application) that you deliver to your local SSA office;
  2. When you deliver the paper SSA forms to the local SSA office, notify the claims representative that you are using the SOAR process;
  3. Call the SOAR liaison at your local SSA office (if one has been identified) and notify him/her that you have submitted an application using the SOAR process.

Not all SSA offices have a SOAR liaison or know about the SOAR process. Remember that the most important part of the SOAR model is providing a complete, high-quality application with medical records and a Medical Summary Report (MSR). These elements, rather than the SOAR label on forms, will ensure that the application is processed efficiently by SSA and DDS.

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Question:
Does an individual have to be homeless for SOAR to file for them?

SOAR is a model developed to help those who are experiencing or at-risk for homelessness, so they don’t need to fit the literal definition of homeless. At-risk for homelessness can include those who are in transitional housing, couch-surfing, exiting jails/institutions without somewhere to live, and those in permanent supportive housing who are entirely supported by grant funding.

Our Definitions of Homelessness page has further clarification on the definitions used by SOAR and SSA.

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Question:
Is an individual trained in the SOAR model able to charge a fee for this service?

The expectation is that providers involved with SOAR do not charge persons applying for SSA disability benefits for their services. We work closely with providers to identify alternative sources of funding for their programs. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have identified various methods to fund SOAR activities that do not involve charging the applicant or collecting a fee from the applicant’s back pay. Resources related to SOAR funding and sustainability can be found in the SOAR Library.

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Question:
How do you organize the paperwork for an application while in process?

We recommend creating a case-file folder for each applicant, specifically for SSA and SOAR paperwork. It is helpful if this folder has separate sections to organize your material. While you are gathering information for the application, you can store your interview notes, signed agency releases of information used to gather medical records, and any medical records or collateral information you have gathered. You can also store any completed SSA forms or worksheets in this folder. As you gather medical records, it is helpful to read through them and fill out the paper SSA-3368 Adult Disability Report as a worksheet with the key information from the records.

It may also be helpful to write a short summary of the medical records from each treatment provider as you gather them and include this in the folder. This will save time when you start to write your Medical Summary Report (MSR), as you can utilize the information from the summaries rather than re-reading the medical records. Additionally, your interview notes from the folder will be beneficial to use as a basis for your MSR.

When you are ready to submit the SSI/SSDI application, the folder will contain all the information you need to complete the disability application. Once you’ve submitted the application, place copies of the online application receipt, paper forms submitted to the SSA office (SSA-1696 and SSA-8000), and a copy of your MSR in the folder. Finally, once you receive the decision letter from SSA, include this in the folder for your records and store the information according to your agency guidelines.

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Question:
How can I find the date of onset?

We recommend using the applicant’s last day of work as their date of onset when helping someone apply for SSI/SSDI. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will examine the applicant’s medical records and prior work history to determine if any of the previous work attempts were unsuccessful (i.e.: the applicant was unable to sustain work for more than a few weeks or months due to disabling mental or physical health conditions).

If the applicant is currently working, enter the date that he or she believes the condition(s) became severe enough to prevent him or her from performing substantial gainful activity.

For individuals who have never worked, such as youth exiting foster care, SSA’s guidance is to “enter the date when he or she believes the condition(s) became severe enough to keep him or her from working.” Since youth can work before age 18, you can enter dates prior to their 18th birthday if that is relevant.

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