StreetReach and SOAR: How Pine Rest walks with the chronically homeless

Victoria Sluga and Kate Stowell of Pine Rest’s StreetReach team work with individuals struggling with chronic homelessness and mental illness.

West Michigan is in the midst of a housing crisis.

In 2018, 10,000 people entered the homeless system in Kent County. Nearly a third of them were children and adults in families, for whom shelter space is scarce. But while homeless families with young children naturally catch the public’s attention, beneath that, the problem of chronic homelessness among single adults remains.

These are the people, many of them struggling with mental illness and addiction, that Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services’ StreetReach team works with every single day.

The StreetReach team received a certificate of appreciation from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in October 2019.

Heart of West Michigan United Way funds StreetReach’s SOAR program. SOAR stands for SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery. It’s a national model whose objective is to secure Social Security benefits for those who are homeless as a result of a mental illness. It’s been uncommonly successful at Pine Rest: 68% of the applications they submit are approved, above the national average. Since July 2017, 39 SOAR cases have been completed as a result of United Way funding.

“It’s a really key program to getting people housed,” said Emily Schichtel, United Way’s community impact manager. “They are working with those who are by far the most vulnerable and have the most barriers.”

Once an individual has income, they have a better chance of accessing housing. That’s an obvious improvement in their lives, but it also reduces the cost to the community and gives a boost to the local economy. With SOAR, a process that could take nearly two and a half years can be completed in just six months.

“This is an expedited process where they have someone working with them on an individual basis,” Schichtel said.

At Pine Rest, one of those individuals is Kate Stowell.

Kate Stowell is StreetReach’s SOAR case manager.

Stowell works at the agency’s office in Grand Rapids’ Heartside neighborhood, which has a large homeless population. As StreetReach’s SOAR case manager, she helps candidates complete their Social Security applications. But her job is far more than helping people fill out forms.

“It feels like an adventure,” she said.

Her task is to gather evidence that a person is suffering from a disabling mental health condition and then present that evidence in a medical report to the Social Security Administration. That means compiling a medical history for a person who has no permanent address, often has little-to-no documentation, and whose primary objective from day to day is survival.

And then there’s the Catch-22: The very mental condition that qualifies an individual for SSDI may prevent them from completing the process.

One individual Stowell had been working with was struggling with paranoia and delusions. He pulled out of the process just as she was preparing to submit his application. “It was just really sad to see because he was so close to getting approved, but because he distrusts the government, he didn’t see that.”

The process requires trust, and building that trust takes time.

It starts with Pine Rest’s StreetReach team. Led by Victoria Sluga, the team doesn’t wait for people to come to them; they actively seek them out, wherever they are.

Victoria Sluga is StreetReach’s team lead.

“Along the river, deep in the woods, under bridges. You could be going through a carpool lot and someone could be living in their car,” Sluga said. The team encounters people squatting in condemned structures and in homes without heat or running water. Sluga’s team takes referrals from other agencies throughout the county and maintains a map showing where encampments are located.

“The system’s burnt them or traumatized them and so it’s really being mindful that you’re walking into their home, their space, and starting to build a relationship,” Sluga said.

“This is really not about us putting our agenda on someone. It’s about the team just introducing themselves. And saying hey, this is who we are, this is how we’ve helped folks and can assist you. It could be bringing food, bringing socks, anything to start that relationship.”

Once StreetReach has identified people who might be eligible for benefits and are willing to take that next step, they refer them to Stowell. Gathering records and stories, preparing her report on a person’s limitations and ability to function in daily life is time-consuming work. It requires flexibility.

“I’m a relational person,” Stowell said. “I really try to spend time validating someone’s situation, meeting them where they’re at. I have some brokenness within me as well.”

One woman Stowell worked with couldn’t ride the bus to Pine Rest’s office because the enclosed, crowded space caused her to have panic attacks. So Stowell picked her up and interviewed her in a quiet corner at Tropical Smoothie instead.

“Sometimes it’s difficult. Sometimes people stare at the ground when talking to me instead of looking me in the eye,” Stowell said. “Lots of fidgeting or restless legs. Body movements where they’re impacted internally and they’re trying not to show it externally.”

For Stowell, it’s about “just allowing them to be wherever they are.”

Many StreetReach and SOAR clients have experienced abuse or neglect. PTSD is common. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, as many as 57% of homeless women cite domestic violence as the direct cause of their homelessness.

“You can just see the survivor in them, that they haven’t ever really been able to slow down enough to process through their own mental health and trauma. They get so caught up in it,” Stowell said.

The $783 per month that SSDI provides is more than a check for these individuals. It’s the stability to finally deal with their past.

That was true for a woman the staff at Pine Rest knew well.

“Let’s call her ‘Billie.’” Sluga laughed. “She’d like that.” (Out of respect for Pine Rest’s client confidentiality, we aren’t using her real name.)

“She was this tough, tough, tough lady who literally lived on the streets of Grand Rapids in Heartside for six years or so,” Sluga said. “At times she would be asked to leave the shelter for her behavior, but that speaks to years of surviving abuse and trauma and major depression that partners so well with addiction and alcohol.”

The StreetReach team started building a relationship with Billie. They got to know the wounded person beneath the tough exterior.

Billie was a grandmother, but as her addiction spiraled, she had pushed most of the people in her life away, including her family. “If you’re living minute to minute, you’re not thinking about your grandkids’ birthdays,” Sluga said. “But she felt such shame about not reaching out to her grandchildren on their birthdays.”

As she came to trust the team, Billie eventually entered the SOAR program and was awarded Social Security benefits, which enabled her to access permanent supportive housing. She had a home of her own with a TV and houseplants, and she began to rekindle her relationships. “It was beautiful to see her reconnecting with her family,” Sluga said.

Billie died three years ago. “But she did it in her own home, surrounded by her family,” Sluga said.

“If we didn’t have SOAR, I don’t know if she would have gotten to know us.” It’s not about overnight solutions or simple fixes. “It’s a journey. It’s a walking with.”

To learn more about the programs Heart of West Michigan United Way supports through the Community Grant Fund, visit our Agency Partners page.