The Georgia Homeless in 2008


by boake moore - Date: 2008-09-17 - Word Count: 4285 Share This!

What is homelessness?

Homelessness is a difficult and complex issue. So much so, that there is even

disagreement over the definition of who is truly homeless and who is not. The

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines someone as

"homeless" if he or she:

resides in an emergency shelter or in transitional/- supportive housing for

homeless persons; or

- resides in a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks,

abandoned buildings, encampments, and dilapidated buildings

The U.S. Department of Education uses an expanded definition that also includes

people who are:

- doubled up with family or friends due to economic condition

- living in motels and hotels for lack of other suitable housing

- migrant workers living in housing not fit for habitation

The State of Georgia, in the Act that created the State Housing Trust Fund for the

Homeless in 1988, defined homelessness as "persons and families who have no access

to or can reasonably be expected not to have access to either traditional or permanent

housing which can be considered safe, sanitary, decent, and affordable."1

Because of the important variations in the definition of homelessness, this report

primarily uses the more narrow HUD definition, except when otherwise noted.

What is chronic homelessness?

About 25% of the homeless population experience long spells of homelessness or

have had numerous homeless episodes.2 These chronically homeless individuals

use a disproportionate share of public services and are vulnerable to continued

homelessness. HUD considers someone chronically homeless if he or she is

unaccompanied, has a disabling condition and has been homeless continuously for a

year or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.3

What is the impact of homelessness?

Homelessness has a profound impact on the individuals and families it affects

including increased health problems, increased mental health problems, difficulty

with maintaining employment, separation of families, and so on. Although we can

sympathize with people who are in difficult straits, it is fair to ask why homelessness

matters to the community at large. Homelessness affects more than just an

individual or family. It affects the whole community in a number of ways. The costs of

homelessness include:

- poor educational attainment and development among homeless children

- uninsured medical costs for a population with a high rate of disability

- public safety costs including police and jail costs for offenses such as

panhandling, loitering, or vagrancy

- sanitation and litter control in parks and public spaces where homeless people

congregate

- high cost of emergency shelters, transitional housing, and supportive services for

individuals and families experiencing homelessness

- high cost of crisis services such as emergency room and ambulance services

and inpatient hospitalization for acute and chronic health conditions as well as

mental health crises

- lost wages and revenue from individuals that would otherwise be able to work if

they had a permanent address

Myth: Homeless people are a fixed       







A February 2006 article in the New Yorker relates the story of Murray Barr, a chronicallyhomeless man

living in Reno, Nevada. Police

Officers Patrick O'Bryan and Steve Johns had numerous interactions with Murray over many years. They began tallying costs such as arrests,

incarcerations, ambulance service, and hospitalizations over a ten-year period.

Officer O'Bryan said, "It cost us one million dollars not to do something about Murray."

Malcolm Gladwell, "Million Dollar Murray," The

New Yorker, Feb. 13, 2006

92% of homeless women have

experienced severe physical and/ or sexual assault at some point in their lives.

 

Violence Against Women Act, March 1, 2007

 






population who are usually

homeless for long periods of

time.

Fact: Research indicates that 40% of

homeless people have been

homeless less than six months,

and 70% have been homeless

less than two years.

University of Denver, Project Homeless Connect

www.du.edu/homelessness

Million-Dollar Murray

2007 Tri-J Homeless Census - Point-In-Time

Individuals Family Members Totals %

Unsheltered 2,071 44 2,115 31%

Emergency Shelters 2,027 359 2,386 35%

Transitional Housing 1,524 815 2,339 34%

Totals and % 5,622 (82%) 1,218 (18%) 6,840 100%

How many people are homeless in Georgia?

The difficulties of counting the homeless in any single community, much less a

large state, have been discussed in detail by both researchers and advocates for the

homeless. This report will not presume to provide a single, definitive, and indisputable

number of persons who are homeless in Georgia. However, it is important to have at

least some understanding of the magnitude and scope of the problem. Fortunately,

a significant amount of data from multiple sources is available to indicate how many

people in the state face the dreadful prospect of no place to live.

Point in Time Homeless Counts

The federal response to the problem of homelessness is embodied in the McKinney-

Vento Homeless Assistance Act, first passed in 1987. The McKinney-Vento programs

are administered by many federal agencies including HUD. In order to receive federal

funding, communities must organize services within a Continuum of Care umbrella.

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring that the Continuums of Care

conduct point-in-time homeless counts once every two years. Accordingly, each of

Georgia's Continuums of Care (CoCs) have been engaged in an effort to count the

state's sheltered and unsheltered homeless population.

The CoCs that cover Chatham, Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton Counties and the consolidated

governments of Athens-Clarke, Augusta-Richmond, and Columbus-Muscogee conduct

homeless counts annually or biennially. For example, every other year, the Metro Atlanta

Tri-Jurisdictional Collaborative on Homelessness (Tri-J), comprised of the City of Atlanta, Fulton

County, and DeKalb County, has over 500 volunteers and staff walk and drive the entire 750

square miles of the jurisdiction from midnight to 5 a.m., looking for unsheltered homeless people.This national best practice canvassing model is coordinated by Pathways Community

Network for the Tri-J. On the same night, the Tri-J conducts a census of its emergency

shelter and transitional housing beds. On January 25, 2007, the Tri-J count identified

6,840 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the two county area.4

Because the Balance of the State covers 152 counties, many of them rural, the Georgia

Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has always performed an annual assessment

of persons in shelters and transitional housing, but until 2008 did not have a feasible

way to count unsheltered homeless people. Beginning this year, DCA used a sampling

methodology and predictive model developed by statistics faculty at Kennesaw

State University.5 The methodology took the unsheltered homeless count in 23 counties to arrive at a predicted count of unsheltered homeless persons by county. The count data used

in the model included counts from 2007 and 2008. The counts conducted in the Balance of the State were done using surveys primarily collected at locations where people receive services.

All of the count efforts around the state, along with the model, indicate that there were over 20,000 people in Georgia who were homeless at a single Point-In-Time (a one-night snap shot)

during the last week in January.  The homeless count surveys collected in January 2008 also

included a question about the length of time that people had been homeless. Using a weighted average of those responses provides an estimate of over 75,000 people who experience

homelessness in Georgia at some time during one year.

DCA and the other CoCs will be conducting new point-in-time counts during the last

week in January 2009. These counts will provide an opportunity to refine the count

methodologies and update our estimates for 2009. In addition, the counts will provide

trend data for the participating communities and the state as a whole.

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has also mandated that

Continuums of Care utilize a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for

their federally funded programs for the homeless. In Georgia, all of the Continuums

have adopted the use of the same system provided through Pathways Community

Network. Statewide, 277 homeless service providers use Pathways HMIS. In 2007, these

agencies enrolled 31,195 individuals and family members, in various service programs.

 

Who is homeless in Georgia?

As part of the point-in-time count in January 2008, 1,578 unduplicated surveys were

collected from people around the state who were having housing difficulties. The

surveys focused on the housing status of the survey respondents and their families

(2,041 people) on the night of January 27, 2008. The housing status of the survey

respondents and their families is shown in the table below.

861 428 556 196

The people categorized as "precariously housed" were staying with family or friends

or in hotels/motels. These people would be considered homeless under the more

expansive U.S. Department of Education definition of homelessness, but not under

the definition adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Children were more likely to be in families that were precariously housed or living

in homeless shelters. About 71% of the survey respondents who were precariously

housed were women. The unsheltered homeless were generally middle aged adults,

59% of those survey respondents were men. The sheltered homeless were split almost

evenly between women and men. Using the broader definition of homelessness, the

majority of Georgia's homeless population are women and children.

What causes homelessness in Georgia?

Two factors play a huge part in the lives of people who become homeless: extreme

poverty and personal vulnerability.

Extreme Poverty

People can become homeless because of:

- very low incomes,

- unemployment, or

- the lack of available affordable housing.

Income and the cost of housing

People who are poor face a much higher risk of becoming homeless. Georgia's poorest

citizens, who earn 50% or less of the poverty level, are at particular risk.

Housing Wage6

Georgia Non-metro Georgia Atlanta MSA

Annual Income Needed to

Afford Fair Market Rent*

One bedroom apartment $25,712 $18,949 $29,640

Two-bedroom apartment $29,084 $22,257 $32,960

*income needed to pay rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of income on housing

Dr. Larry Keating, then Professor of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech,

conducted a study looking at households with low or moderate-incomes who have

one or more housing problems (cost burden, over-crowding, and/or lack of plumbing

and complete kitchen facilities).7 Using data from the 2000 Census, Dr. Keating found

that 256,146 households (renters and homeowners) were spending 50% or more of

their gross incomes on housing. These are families for whom the cost of housing places

them in danger of becoming homeless. Using those averages, over 725,000 Georgians

live in households paying more than 50% of gross income for housing.

Number of persons living in poverty in Georgia in 2006: 1.3 million

Number of persons with incomes that are one-half or less of the poverty level (extreme poverty): 595,665

Nationally, for every 100 extremely low- income renters there were 78 rental units that they could afford, but only 44 were actually available. The remainder were occupied by higher income households.

In Georgia, a family needs a yearly

income of $29,084 to afford a two bedroom

apartment - well above the

poverty rate for a family of four.

Out of Reach 2007 - 2008, National Low Income

Housing Coalition

Severely Cost Burdened

Number of Households

Severely Cost Burdened Home

Owner Households*

97,224

Severely Cost Burdened Renter

Households

158,922

* low and moderate income households paying 50% or more of their incomes on rent/mortgage and utilities, based

on 2000 Census data

In December 2007, over 200,000 Georgians were receiving SSI (Supplemental Security

Income). The recipients of these funds are low-income aged or disabled persons. The

monthly SSI payment in Georgia (see below) is less than the Fair Market Rent for a onebedroom

apartment in the state.9

2008 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in Georgia8

Monthly SSI Payment $637

Fair Market Rent for One-bedroom Apartment $643

Personal Vulnerability

The other factor that plays a role for many people that experience homelessness is a

personal situation that leaves them vulnerable to the loss of housing, such as:

- mental illness

- substance abuse

- developmental disabilities or brain injury

- physical disabilities or chronic medical problems

- family violence

- prior evictions or poor credit

- criminal background

Many individuals and families have personal vulnerabilities that place them at

significant risk of becoming homeless. Disabilities, including mental illness and drug

and alcohol abuse, exact a terrible toll on people. In the 2007 Metro Atlanta Tri-

Jurisdiction Survey, about 58% of the respondents indicated that they had one or more

disabilities. Of those, 22% had multiple disabilities. From a survey of 24 cities, the U.S.

Conference of Mayors estimates that about 22% of the homeless population suffers

from a severe mental illness.10

Domestic violence plays a significant role in homelessness among women and

children. In a 1998 study of homeless parents in ten U.S cities (most of whom were

women), 22% said that they had left their last place of residence because of domestic

violence.11

Past experiences and behaviors can also create significant barriers for individuals and

families who are trying to escape homelessness. Being homeless can lead to arrests

for behaviors such as trespassing and loitering. Criminal offenses such as these, and

certainly more serious convictions, can make it difficult to pass a required background

check when trying to rent permanent housing. Additionally, certain felony convictions

make it difficult to obtain a bed in an emergency shelter. Likewise, prior evictions and

poor credit can make it difficult to rent decent affordable housing.

Over 725,000 Georgians live in low

income households paying more than

50% of gross income for housing.

Larry Keating. Housing Needs in Georgia: How

Many and Who? December 21, 2004

2007 Poverty Guidelines

Family Size Poverty

1 $10,210

2 $13,690

3 $17,170

4 $20,650

5 $24,130

6 $27,610

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml

From July 1, 2007 to May 31, 2008

10,614 homeless adults and children

received services from the Georgia's

Department of Human Resources for

mental health or substance abuse.

If just 11% of the homeless in GA

received full SSI benefits they are

eligible for, the total ANNUAL amount

of federal dollars coming to these

households would be approximately

$10,412,963.

What is Georgia doing to help people who are homeless?

Statewide Initiatives

The State of Georgia and many of its communities have been actively working to

address the issue of homelessness for over 20 years. With the creation of the State

Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless in 1988, the State dedicated funding for helping

individuals and families end their homelessness. Today the State Housing Trust Fund

provides funding to over 200 grantees across the state to implement a variety of

strategies intended to address homelessness. The funding is a combination of State

and Federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

These strategies include homeless prevention, emergency shelter, transitional housing,

supportive services, and permanent supportive housing. They also provide funding for

communities to hold resource fairs and participate in the homeless count.

The Housing Trust Fund provides rental assistance funding for over 1,200 units of

housing for individuals and families with disabilities. In addition, the Permanent

Supportive Housing Program at DCA provides funding for the development of new

supportive housing units. State and Federal funding enables local services providers to

provide support for residents.

The Department of Human Resources (DHR) has a number of programs that assist

individuals and families that experience homelessness, including funding for domestic

violence services through the Family Violence Unit, homeless outreach through the

Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program, and expedited

access to Social Security Disability Benefits through the SSI/SSDI Homeless Outreach

Access and Recovery (SOAR) initiative. The SOAR initiative works closely with the

Department of Labor and the Disability Adjudication staff to improve the social security

application process for individuals who are homeless.

The Department of Education, through the McKinney-Vento homeless liaisons in each

school district, provides services for children who are experiencing homelessness.

Services are provided to prevent children from falling behind in school because of

homelessness. The Department of Community Health, through the Healthcare for the

Homeless Program, provides funding to provide primary health care for individuals and

families who are homeless.

There are also several state initiatives to address the needs of individuals being

released from state prison. One of these initiatives is the Re-entry Partnership between

the State Board of Pardons and Parole, Department of Corrections, Criminal Justice

Coordinating Council, and the Department of Community Affairs. The Department of

Corrections also has a Faith and Character Based Re-entry Initiative. These programs

attempt to prevent ex-offenders from falling into homelessness by connecting them

with temporary housing and employment opportunities.

Coordination and Collaboration

To coordinate the various initiatives of all the State Agencies that work to

address homelessness, the State formed the Interagency Homeless

Coordination Council in 2004. The Council was able to develop the State of

Georgia Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. The Council has representatives

from multiple agencies and meets quarterly.

The Georgia Coalition to End Homelessness (GCEH) is a statewide nonprofit

and advocacy organization that provides training and technical assistance to homeless

service providers, information and advocacy for policy makers, and a Help Line for

those facing homelessness. In 2007, GCEH reported providing 460 hours of technical

assistance and training to 132 homeless service providers.

School Aged Children and

Homelessness

Homelessness has a profound

impact on children. Data from the

U.S. Department of Education (DOE)

indicates that while 87% of homeless

youth are enrolled in school, only 77%

attend regularly. Homeless families

move frequently impacting their

children. An Institute for Children

and Poverty study showed that 51%

of homeless children transfer schools

two or more times. There are estimates

that 3-6 months of education are lost

to every move.

The Georgia Department of Education

collects data from each school district

on homeless school children. In the

2007-2008 academic year, 22,888

children in Georgia public schools were

reported to be homeless.

Mitchell

Permanent Supportive Housing Beds

Source: 2007 Continuum of Care Housing Inventories

Type

Individual

Beds Family Beds

Emergency Shelter 2,638 1,337

Transitional Housing 2,519 2,338

Permanent Housing 2,318 1,493

Total 7,475 5,168

Serving Georgia's Homeless:

2007 Statewide Bed Inventories

Local Initiatives

Two metro area planning bodies include the Regional Commission on Homelessness

in Metro Atlanta and the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless. There are

also a number of coalitions at the state and regional levels that participate in advocacy,

planning and service delivery.

A number of communities have used federal, state and local funding to create

innovative initiatives to address homelessness. Some examples of these innovative

initiatives include:

The 24/7 Gateway Se o rvice Center in Atlanta

has served more than 12,000 people over the

last two years. Gateway provides 300 beds

designated to various programs such as mental

health, employment and substance abuse.

There is also a women and children's center

with 30 beds.

o Athens recently held the first Project Homeless

Connect Athens, based on a national model

encouraged by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The Athens event had over 140 attendees who received a variety of services

including haircuts, health and dental screenings, legal counseling, food stamp

applications, and AIDS/HIV testing. Almost 50 service providers participated in

the event.

o An evaluation of the Education and Community Services Engagement

Linkage program (ECSEL) was initiated in the spring of 2005 by Georgia State

University in cooperation with the United Way of Atlanta and Grady Health

System. The evaluation was conducted to assess whether the ECSEL program

improves outcomes for homeless mentally ill clients better than traditional

case management services. The ECSEL approach provides more support for

homeless mentally ill patients than traditional case management. The study

found an average net savings of $5,200 per person due to improvement in

housing status and decreases in incarceration and hospitalization.12

o The Behavioral Health Services Program of

Union Mission, Inc. is provided through the

Savannah Area Behavioral Health Collaborative

(SABHC) in partnership with the Chatham-

Savannah Authority for the Homeless and

Memorial Health University Medical Center.13

The program offers mental health and

substance abuse treatment programs for

adults in Chatham and surrounding areas.

The services include diagnostic assessments,

psychiatric services, day treatment, group

therapy, community support, residential services, and medication assistance.

o Hope House, Inc. in Augusta held a Groundbreaking Ceremony in January 2008

for its Permanent Supportive Housing project called "The Highlands West."

Hope House, Inc. provides long-term housing needs and a "Best Practice"

therapeutic recovery program for women and women with children who are

suffering from the disease of chemical addiction and a co-occurring mental

health illness. The property consists of 5.22 acres of land and one building.

Rehabilitation of the existing building will be used as office space for Hope

House staff and clinical space to provide supportive services to its clients.

The development also includes the new construction of 42 new permanent

housing units for its clients. Construction is expected to be completed in a few months.

Cobb County non-profit organizations are working w o ith local health care

providers to develop alternative placement options for homeless individuals.

Alternatives are needed that provide more suitable care settings and reduce

overall costs to the health care system. Their research in Georgia and other

states indicates that buy-in by the health care system is key to developing

a sustainable program. They hope to initiate new options this year that will

reduce unnecessary hospitalization for homeless individuals, while more

efficiently using community resources.

o The Macon Housing Authority's Shelter Plus Care program successfully

combined housing assistance with supportive services for homeless persons

during the late 1990s. MHA provided the housing assistance and the River

Edge Behavioral Health Center provided the supportive services for assisted

families. However, both agencies wanted to improve the basic program model.

To better serve homeless persons with a mental health and/or a substance

abuse diagnosis, MHA, River Edge and In-Fill Housing, Inc. developed Grove

Park Village (see sidebar this page). This 40-unit multi-family development,

completed in 2005, provides affordable residential housing where residents

pay no more than 30 percent of their adjusted monthly incomes for rent. River

Edge staffs a fulltime case manager at Grove Park Village. The $3.2 million

development cost for Grove Park Village was provided by a DCA Permanent

Supportive Housing Program loan using resources from the federal HOME

program and the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless. When spread out

over the expected life of the development, the per unit cost is approximately

$2,700/year, compared to the $84,600 annual cost of hospitalizing patients for

mental health or substance abuse.

o After the 2000 Census, the City of Dalton became a CDBG Entitlement

community and was required by HUD to complete a Consolidated Plan. The

Needs Assessment for that Plan highlighted dismal housing conditions in

the community. In response, the City asked the Dalton-Whitfield Community

Development Corporation to help both city and county governments deal

with this issue. A Homeless Summit was convened in 2005 as the first activity

to address that request. The Committee for Housing Stability was formed as a

result of that Homeless Summit. The Committee is comprised of approximately

40 agencies which all share the need to find safe and decent housing for their

clients. The agencies have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement in order

to be able to work cooperatively to locate all resources available to their client

households. Working together, the Committee for Housing Stability is helping

address homelessness and housing stability in Dalton and Whitfield County.

Local 10-Year Plans to End

Chronic Homelessness

- City of Albany

- Metropolitan Atlanta (Regional

Commission on Homelessness

members: City of Atlanta and Cobb,

Clayton, Douglas, DeKalb, Fulton, and

Rockdale Counties)

- Athens-Clarke County

- Augusta-Richmond County

- City of Macon and Bibb County

- City of Savannah

United States Interagency Council on

Homelessness

Jennette and Macon's River Edge

Jennette was first introduced to the

River Edge Behavioral Health Center

in January, 2003. She entered the

facility for drug addiction. Upon

completing their 14-day long-term

treatment program, Jennette was

placed into an apartment in Macon

through River Edge's Shelter Plus

Care program where she lived for two

years. Three months after moving

to Macon and attending the DUAL

program, (which treats clients with

more than one addiction) she enrolled

in Central Georgia Technical College

where she graduated with honors

in June, 2004 receiving a Diploma in

Business Management/Supervisory

Development. In March of 2005,

Jennette was able to move into Grove

Park Village Apartments. Jennette

is still enrolled in Central Georgia

Technical College and will graduate

in June, 2008 with a second Associate

Degree in Administrative Office

Technology.

Grove Park Village

Macon, GA

Reunification

Homelessness can often be prevented

if individuals are able to reconnect

with family or other social support

systems. Over the past five years, over

8,000 people have been reunified

with their support systems through

Travelers Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Next Steps

National research indicates that the

most effective strategy for addressing

homelessness is to move individuals and

families into permanent housing as quickly

as possible. Preventing or minimizing the

amount of time spent in the homeless

service system and providing services to

individuals within permanent housing

settings is more effective than long stays in

emergency and transitional shelters. This

change in our understanding of how to

best impact homelessness requires a shift

away from the traditional model of long shelter stays and two year transitional housing

programs. Strategies such as Housing First, Rapid Re-Housing, and Homeless Prevention

hold promise as better responses to the problem.

A constant challenge for homeless service providers is adequate resources, especially

for supportive services. HUD concentrates its focus on funding housing, with the

expectation that service funding will come from other sources. However, this puts

additional stress on the existing supportive services available in the State. It also makes

it difficult for service providers to help those that are hardest to serve, especially

chronically homeless individuals. Unfortunately, these are often the individuals who are

utilizing a great deal of state resources and who need help the most.

To better understand what is and is not effective in combating homelessness,

evaluations on the success of the programs is important. In SFY 2009, DCA is

implementing housing support standards which set a minimum level of service

standard and tracks the success of individuals and families utilizing the homeless service

system. It is expected that these standards and performance measurement will improve

the homeless service delivery system across the state.

Community awareness and public will are also challenges to addressing the issue of

homelessness. It is easy in suburban and rural areas to assume that homelessness does

not exist, while in urban areas, homeless individuals are seen as a public nuisance.

Increased education and awareness about the extent and causes of homelessness

would assist the communities of Georgia in coming together to address the issue. One

example of a community education initiative currently in place is the Union Mission

Homelessness 101 Curriculum in which volunteers are educated about poverty and

homelessness before they participate in volunteer activities.

A continual challenge for addressing homelessness is fully understanding the extent

and nature of the problem. We hope that this report is just the first step in increasing

our understanding of homelessness in Georgia.

Ms. Smith and SOAR

The DHR SOAR Project team first met

Ms. Smith under a bridge in downtown

Atlanta. It was 5:00 in the morning

and she had just fallen asleep after

having been awake all night due to her

crack use. Her psychiatric medication

had been stolen the night before.

She was dressed in an old, dirty tank

top and carried all of her belongings

in a ragged bag. She said that she

was ready to get off of the street and

away from the awful smells under the

bridge. Ms. Smith was very depressed

and did not have the energy to change

her clothes or go through her normal

grooming routine.

Ms. Smith has been diagnosed with

Bipolar Disorder and often experience

symptoms of posttraumatic stress

disorder. She has been using crack

cocaine for the last 20 years. The

drug gives her a momentary break

from her racing thoughts and manic

moods. Ms. Smith continuously

tries to get treatment for her mental

health symptoms but often finds her

depression and anxiety unbearable

and so she treats those symptoms with

substances. Her ability to function in

the community had been worsening

over the last 2 years. When we met her,

she had been homeless over a year.

Ms. Smith came with the team to

the Gateway homeless shelter and

began talking with us. Ms. Smith

had applied for SSI in the past and

been denied. She had most recently

applied a few months prior to our

first meeting. Upon calling the SSA

1-800 number, we found out that

she had been denied for failure to

communicate. Fortunately, we were

able to help Ms. Smith file a Request

for Reconsideration. Ms. Smith's

application was approved! Since we

were able to appeal her original case,

Ms. Smith received back payments and

currently receives $623 a month. She

is moving into her own apartment and

is receiving outpatient mental health

treatment. She still struggles with her

addiction, but is on the first steppingstone

to recovery.


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Boake Moore is an IT solutions salesman by trade and also founded a non profit coffee company called Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee -http://www.missiongrounds.com/ourphilosophy.php - the church coffee. It donates all its profits and proceeds to helping orphans and impoverished children. Helping orphans , the church coffee - www.missiongrounds.com/ourchildren.php can be found at Krogers and many churches. And its also the finest Tarrazu coffee coming from the volcanic area of Costa Rica coffee. www.missiongrounds.com

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