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Highlighted below are some of the ways peers from around the country have incorporated their lived expertise into their SOAR work.

Connecting Veterans with Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits is a critical step to increasing income stability for Veterans and their families, particularly for those Veterans whose work activity is limited by disabling conditions. The SOAR model helps individuals obtain SSA disability benefits while they are pursuing their vocational and housing goals through the GPD Program. 

State and Local Leads spearhead and coordinate the implementation of SOAR initiatives. These leaders identify and engage stakeholders to participate in steering committees whose goal is to create and implement a SOAR action plan and process for adult SSI/SSDI and/or child SSI application submission. These committees meet regularly to collaborate, report on progress, and troubleshoot challenges.

Find up-to-date information on the rates that SSA sets annually.

Here are five practical tips that may help SOAR providers establish stronger and more successful working relationships with their state DDS.

February is Black History Month, a time for us to honor Black Americans’ achievements in the face of systemic oppression throughout our Nation’s history. In 2021, we celebrated the Former Acting Commissioner of Social Security (ACOSS), Carolyn W. Colvin, M.B.A., her achievements while in office, and her support of the SAMHSA SOAR model.

April is National Social Security Month! In 2021, we honored Mike Nolan, one of the SOAR initiative’s longest-standing supporters at the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Read our Q&A with a SOAR case worker from New York who has an appeals success story!

National Recovery Month is observed every September to educate the public about mental health and substance use disorders and to celebrate the gains accomplished by individuals in recovery. In celebration, the SAMHSA SOAR TA Center extends thanks and appreciation to the 250+ SOAR-trained case workers who identify as “peers.”

The SOAR TA Center has released the outcomes of SSI/SSDI applications submitted using the SOAR process from 2006 through June 30, 2023.