Accessing Mainstream Benefits
People with limited financial resources and support networks are most vulnerable to homelessness. One medical emergency, a disabling health condition, or the loss of employment can plunge an individual or family into homelessness. Mainstream benefits play an important role in supplementing household income and can help serve as a safety net for financially vulnerable households.
Mainstream benefits fall into three broad categories: income supports, health care, and work supports. While most individuals experiencing homelessness are eligible for these mainstream benefits, surprisingly few access the full range of benefits available to them. Often, this is the result of complicated application procedures and fragmented service systems. Given limited resources for targeted homeless assistance programs, it is essential that communities develop strategies to improve access to mainstream benefits.
Below, users will find information and resources on topics related to a variety of mainstream benefit programs, including (but not limited to):
- Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance
- Medicaid
- VA Health and Pension Benefits
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (previously known as Food Stamps)
Blog
A Safe Place: Established Safe Haven provider begins collaboration with Tampa VAMC
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - September 24-27
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - September 10-14
Medicaid: Ensuring Full Expansion & Assertive Outreach in all States
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - August 27-31
A Unique Permanent Supportive Housing Plan and Using Medicaid to Make it Happen: My time in Louisiana
The Affordable Care Act and Homelessness
Helpful Websites
First Step: Benefits for People who are Homeless
http://www.mrsh.net/firststep/firststep%20%28d%29/index.html This website is a tool for case managers, service providers, and those ...
Benefits.gov: The Offical Benefits Website of the U.S. Government
http://www.benefits.gov/ Website portal for users to determine eligibility for the nearly 1,000 government benefit programs by using ...
Programs
Children’s Health Insurance Program: CHIP
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a partnership between the Federal and State government that provides health ...
Medicaid
Medicaid is generally a means-tested health care entitlement program financed by States and the Federal Government that provides ...
Social Security Retirement
The Social Security Retirement Program pays benefits to individuals who are at least 62 years old and have earned enough credits to ...
Social Security Disability Insurance
The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program pays benefits to adults who cannot work because of a medical condition that is ...
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), once known as the Food Stamps Program, helps over 34 million people put healthy ...
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
The WIC program provides a voucher or coupon (some states use an EBT card) for women to buy healthy food during pregnancy and ...
Supplemental Security Income
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides cash assistance to meet the basic needs of individuals who are aged 65 or ...
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs provide time-limited assistance to needy families with children to promote ...
Veterans Benefits Assistance Outreach Program
Veterans Benefits Assistance Homeless Veterans Outreach Coordinators (HVOCs) are located at 56 VA regional offices nationwide. ...
Related Research
Web-Based Screeners and Applications: Potential Tools for Improving Benefit Access and Program Efficiency
HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation September 2011 ASPE released a new issue brief on the design ...
Strategies for Improving Homeless People's Access to Mainstream Benefits
Martha R. Burt, Jenneth Carpenter, Samuel G. Hall, Kathryn A. Henderson, Debra J. Rog, John A. Hornik, Ann V. Denton, and Garrett E. ...
Findings from a Study of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery Initiative
Jacqueline Kauff, Jonathan Brown, Norma Altshuler, Noelle Denny-Brown, and Emily Sama Martin September 2009 "The Supplemental ...
Evaluation of Homeless Outreach Projects and Evaluation (HOPE)
Marion L. McCoy, Ph.D., Cynthia S. Robins, Ph.D., James Bethel, Ph.D., Carina Tornow, and William D. Frey, Ph.D. October 2007 "In ...
What Factors Account for State-to-State Differences in Food Security
Judi Bartfeld, Rachel Dunifon, Mark Nord, and Steven Carlson November 2006 States differ in the extent to which their residents ...
Effect of Social Security Payments on Substance Abuse in a Homeless Mentally Ill Cohort
Marc I. Rosen, Thomas J. McMahon, HaiQun Lin, Robert A. Rosenheck November 2005 The purpose of this study is to determine whether ...
Food Stamp Program Access Study: Final Report
Susan Bartlett, Nancy Burstein, and William Hamilton, with the assistance of Ryan Kling November 2004 The Food Stamp Program ...
Simplified Reporting and Transitional Benefits in the Food Stamp Program
Carole Trippe, Liz Schott, Nancy Wemmerus, and Andrew Burwick May 2004 "This study examines the experiences of four States ...
Variations in Maternal and Child Wellbeing by TANF Participation
Nancy E. Reichman, Julien O. Teitler, Irwin Garfinkel, and Sandra Garcia January 2004 "This study uses baseline and one year ...
Employment Factors Influencing Food Stamp Program Participation
Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe, with contributions from Emily Rosenberg November 2003 "This study examines how ...
Holes in the Safety Net: Mainstream Systems and Homelessness
Katharine Gale and Aram Shepherd February 2003 Research has show that any successful effort to end homelessness must include a ...
Homelessness, substance misuse, and access to public entitlements in a soup kitchen population
Peter C. Nwakeze, Ph.D., Stephen Magura, Ph.D., C.S.W., Andrew Rosenblum, Ph.D., and Herman Joseph, Ph.D. 2003 This study examines ...
Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation
LaDonna Pavetti, Kathleen Maloy, and Liz Schott June 2002 This study, 'Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation: ...
Homelessness, Substance Misuse, and Access to Public Entitlements in a soup kitchen population
Peter C. Nwakeze, Stephen Magura, Andrew Rosenblum, and Herman Joseph January 2003 This study examines the effects of homelessness ...
Improving Access to Disability Benefits Among Homeless Persons With Mental Illness: An Agency-Specific Approach to Services Integration.
Robert Rosenheck, Linda Frisman, and Wesley Kasprow April 1999 This study evaluated a joint initiative of the Social Security ...
The Effects of SSI & SSDI Benefits Termination As Seen in HCH Projects
Sarah McCarthy, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty April 1999 "The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) was ...
Outcomes After Initial Receipt of Social Security Benefits Among Homeless Veterans With Mental Illness
Robert A. Rosenheck, David J. Dausey, Linda Frisman, and Wesley Kasprow December 2000 This study examines the relationship between ...
Resources for Accessing Technical Assistance
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/government/program-improvement.htm Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services As of Oct. ...
Social Security Administration
SSA's Homelessness Collaborations Page Social Security Administration Field office and Disability Determination Services staff ...
USICH Webpages
Using Medicaid to Fund Supportive Services
What is Medicaid Today? Medicaid is a partnership between states and the Federal Government providing health care coverage to ...
Videos and Webinars
USICH Webinar: Increasing Access to Mainstream Assistance Programs
On February 23rd, USICH hosted a webinar on using consolidated online enrollment systems such as the Ohio Benefits Bank to increase ...
