The success of the NC SOAR program is credited not only to the dedicated caseworkers who help clients complete applications, but to communities and institutions that support caseworkers and agencies in their work. Community support and investment is critical to maintaining a sustainable, successful SOAR program!
Do you need help educating medical providers in your community about the NC SOAR program? Are you a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who wants to know more about the SSI/SSDI process and your role in helping patients obtain these benefits?
NC SOAR now has an outreach tool to help engage practitioners in your community! You can use this document to explain SSI/SSDI, the physician's role in the disability application process, and how SOAR applications are different than "business as usual."
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) also provides a training curriculum for physicians known as Documenting Disabilities. The training provides an overview of the Social Security's disability programs and application process and tips for better documenting disabilities in medical records. Please note that you will need to create an account with NHCHC to access the training.
If you have questions regarding this document or the training, please email soar@ncceh.org.
Hospitals are natural partners when it comes to SOAR. SOAR can help hospitals recoup indigent care funds provided to SOAR applicants, while vital SSI/SSDI benefits break the cycle of hospital admissions and homelessness.
The national SOAR team, Policy Research Associates, has released a Hospital Primer about building collaborations with hospitals to support SOAR programs in the community. The primer provides examples of how other programs work with hospitals, tips on meeting with hospitals, and an example MOU between a SOAR program and a hospital.
If you have questions about hospital collaborations, please contact soar@ncceh.org or at 919-755-4393.
Want to see how your county is benefitting from the SOAR program? Check out our County SOAR Outcome Reports on our SOAR outcomes webpage.
Are your outcomes not listed? We would love to include information from everyone who is doing SOAR in North Carolina. Please contact us at soar@ncceh.org to set up your Online Application Tracking account so you can record your outcomes!
If you are interested in how SOAR could benefit your community, please contact soar@ncceh.org or at 919-755-4393, extension 5030.
Interested in building and maintaining a sustainable SOAR program in your community? Learn more about NC SOAR Community Certification today! Community certification provides specific and concrete stepping stones to success for communities interested in building a lasting program. NC SOAR Certified Communities are able to benchmark themselves against other cities and counties in our state and receive feedback and specialized technical assistance from NCCEH on current strategies.
As communities across North Carolina begin to implement strategic SOAR initiatives, we're here to help! Contact NCCEH staff at soar@ncceh.org or at 919-755-4393, extension 5030, to plan a community SOAR meeting and to get started with NC SOAR Community Certification.