I first met ‘Michael’ when he sleeping on the streets in downtown Columbia. Michael had a long-term history of homelessness due to a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and he struggled with near-constant auditory hallucinations. After losing his job following a six-month hospitalization, his life began to spiral out of control leading to the end of his marriage, separation from his son, and the beginning of his long period of homelessness in the late 1990s.
    
Within six months of engagement with street outreach workers, Michael entered MIRCI services and moved into an apartment (his first place of his own in 10 years!) and in less than 40 days was approved for SSI benefits and Medicaid using the SOAR model. Now there is one less individual sleeping on a park bench at night, or waiting in the early morning for the library to open to seek solace from the weather outside. The next time you drive through downtown Columbia and see human beings lined outside the local soup kitchen, remember that many of them have similar stories to Michael. They are waiting for the help they need and deserve.

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Submitted by Mental Illness Recovery Center Inc.