Street Outreach Program
Street Outreach will partner with other Onslow County Emergency Response teams to locate and assist individuals, families, Veterans and Justice Served persons’ who are experiencing unsheltered or night sheltered homelessness. (i.e. living in cars, parks, vacant buildings, camps, etc. or registered in a nighttime shelter) It will provide an access point to services, resources, transportation assistance, reunification with family or friends for support, and more.

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) Assistance

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) promotes recovery and wellness through increased access to Social Security disability benefits for eligible individuals who are experiencing homelessness OR at risk of becoming homeless AND have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder. The Gates to Change Outreach (GTCO) SOAR trained specialist will assist individuals with the Social Security disability application process.

Why SOAR assistance is important…

Homelessness is a complex social problem with a variety of underlying economic and social factors such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, untreated physical and mental health problems, substance addictions. People without housing are high consumers of emergency services and public resources, and generate unnecessary costs for tax paying citizens which can burden the community as a whole.

According to data collected from several Onslow County Emergency Services and Law Enforcement and the 2022 PIT count, last year there were more than 663 total encounters with individuals and families that were identified as homeless, disabled, unable to work and lacked access to needed healthcare.

With SOAR assistance, many of those individuals and families will gain access to Social Security disability programs that will make it possible for them to secure housing, receive medical and mental health treatment and access to other needed supports. This can help reduce the unnecessary utilization of emergency services and other public resources that are used for the purpose of shelter and for treatment of non-emergency healthcare.