To apply for the SOAR program, you don’t file paperwork with SOAR itself. You find a SOAR-trained caseworker at a local shelter, community mental health center, VA program, or social service agency, and that caseworker walks you through the entire SSI or SSDI application on your behalf. The fastest route is the SAMHSA SOAR state directory at soarworks.samhsa.gov, which lists a lead contact for every state and many individual communities.1SOAR Works. State Directory That lead can connect you with a trained caseworker near you.
SOAR is a free, SAMHSA-sponsored program that pairs people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with caseworkers trained to build strong disability applications. Standard first-time disability applications from people experiencing homelessness are approved roughly 10 to 15 percent of the time. SOAR-assisted applications have historically been approved at around 73 percent. The difference is preparation, and the way you access that preparation is by getting connected to a caseworker.
Finding a SOAR Caseworker
If you’re already staying at a shelter or working with an outreach program, start there: ask your case manager whether anyone on staff has SOAR training. Many communities have dedicated SOAR teams embedded in their homeless services network.2Social Security Administration. SOAR Programs and Social Security
If you’re not connected to services yet, use the SAMHSA state directory. The state lead will point you to caseworkers who are actively taking cases in your area. SOAR caseworkers most often work out of homeless shelters, community mental health centers, and Veterans Affairs programs. The program serves both adults and children who meet the eligibility criteria.
Who Qualifies for SOAR Help
SOAR is for people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and who have a disabling condition. The homelessness definition is broad. Under federal law it covers living in a car, park, or abandoned building; staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing; being discharged from an institution with no place to go; or facing eviction within 14 days with no backup plan and no resources to find other housing.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 11302 – General Definition of Homeless Individual
On the medical side, you need a severe mental illness, a serious medical impairment, or a co-occurring substance use disorder.2Social Security Administration. SOAR Programs and Social Security The condition has to be severe enough to keep you from earning above what Social Security calls substantial gainful activity, which for 2026 means more than $1,690 per month, or $2,830 if you’re statutorily blind.4Social Security Administration. Substantial Gainful Activity The impairment must be expected to last at least 12 continuous months or result in death.5Social Security Administration. SSR 23-1p: Titles II and XVI: Duration Requirement for Disability
You don’t need to figure out on your own whether you fit these criteria. The caseworker screens for eligibility during intake, and part of the screening is deciding whether you’re pursuing SSI, SSDI, or both. SSDI depends on having enough recent work credits. SSI is for people with little or no work history and countable resources under $2,000 as an individual or $3,000 as a couple.6Social Security Administration. SSI Resources Some applicants qualify for both.
What Your Caseworker Prepares
Once you’re paired with a caseworker, the work shifts to them. You’ll spend time in interviews so they can gather your history, but the actual paperwork is theirs to complete. The core forms are:
- SSA-16, the SSDI application if you have enough work credits.7Social Security Administration. Application for Disability Insurance Benefits
- SSA-8000, the SSI application, which asks about resources, living situation, and marital status.8Social Security Administration. Application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- SSA-3368, the Disability Report, which lists all your medical providers, describes how your conditions limit your ability to work, and covers your work history for the five years before your disability began.9Social Security Administration. SSA-3368-BK – Disability Report – Adult
- SSA-827, the release that lets Social Security pull your medical records directly from providers.10Social Security Administration. SSA-827 – Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration
Your caseworker will also set an alleged onset date, the date your disability began preventing you from working. That date drives any back payments, so it’s checked against medical records and work history before it goes on the application.
The document that most distinguishes a SOAR application is the Medical Summary Report. This is a narrative your caseworker writes that ties your medical records, personal history, and functional limitations together into one coherent picture for the disability examiner. It covers how you handle daily tasks like hygiene, cooking, and getting around, and it addresses the four areas of mental functioning Social Security evaluates: understanding and applying information, interacting with others, concentrating and keeping pace, and adapting to change.11Social Security Administration. 12.00 Mental Disorders – Adult A strong report uses concrete examples: a failed work attempt, an inability to follow a multi-step task, a specific incident in a shelter setting.
The report must be co-signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. Without that signature, Social Security treats it as collateral evidence rather than medical evidence, and it carries much less weight. Your caseworker coordinates with a provider to review and sign the report before anything is filed.
If You Use Drugs or Alcohol
Substance use doesn’t automatically disqualify you, and it shouldn’t stop you from starting the process. Social Security’s rule is that if drug addiction or alcoholism is a “contributing factor material” to the disability finding, the person cannot be found disabled.12Social Security Administration. SSR 13-2p: Titles II and XVI: Evaluating Cases Involving Drug Addiction and Alcoholism (DAA) The examiner essentially asks whether you would still be disabled if you stopped using. If a condition like schizophrenia, PTSD, or a traumatic brain injury would still prevent you from working, the substance use is not material and doesn’t block the claim.
Framing this correctly is one of the specific things SOAR caseworkers are trained to do. A good Medical Summary Report documents the independent severity of each condition and shows how the disability persists during sobriety, or explains why the impairment is permanent regardless.
Filing and What Happens Next
When everything is ready, the caseworker submits the full package to the local Social Security office, either in person or through the online application. They typically add a note in the remarks section identifying the case as SOAR-assisted and naming themselves as the representative, which helps route the file. In many areas, local SOAR teams have arrangements with Social Security offices for dedicated claims specialists or streamlined handling.
From there, the case goes to Disability Determination Services, the state agency that actually decides disability claims. A disability examiner and a medical consultant review your application, the Medical Summary Report, and the records Social Security gathers on its own. Your caseworker stays in contact with the examiner throughout, answering questions and sending additional documentation when asked. As of early 2026, the average processing time for initial disability decisions is around 193 days,13Social Security Administration. Social Security Performance though SOAR applications tend to move faster because they arrive complete.
If your application is denied, you have 60 days from the date on the notice to request reconsideration.14Social Security Administration. Request Reconsideration Missing that window means starting over from scratch, so the deadline is one of the most important dates in the whole process. Your caseworker can gather new medical evidence, update the Medical Summary Report, and file the reconsideration on time.
What Approval Gets You Beyond the Monthly Payment
SSI approval usually brings Medicaid coverage. In most states, SSI eligibility qualifies you for Medicaid automatically with no separate application. A smaller number of states use more restrictive criteria and require a separate Medicaid application even after SSI is approved. Your caseworker or state Medicaid office can tell you which rules apply where you live.
SSDI approval brings Medicare, but after a 24-month qualifying period counted from the start of your benefit entitlement.15Social Security Administration. Medicare Information A previous period of disability can count toward the 24 months. During the wait, Medicaid or other state programs may cover the gap depending on where you live.
For most people who come to SOAR, the health coverage matters as much as the monthly check, because it’s what makes stable housing, consistent medication, and ongoing treatment possible.