MOBILE, Ala. — A homeless ID card issued by the City of Mobile’s Homeless Outreach team has been added to the Social Security Administration’s national identity document database, giving people experiencing homelessness a new way to prove who they are when they apply for a replacement Social Security card.
City leaders say the federal recognition turns a local outreach tool into a potential pathway to other documents, benefits and services, and they are working to spread the word to people who regularly encounter residents in need, including judges in Mobile’s courts.
Why an ID matters
For someone living on the street or in a shelter, a missing identification card can block nearly every route out of homelessness. Jobs, housing applications, bank accounts and government benefits all typically require proof of identity. But getting a new ID often requires other documents, such as a birth certificate or Social Security card, that may have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis described that cycle in plain terms.
“How can you be employed if you don’t have a license of any kind or I.D? How do you reclaim your benefits that you’re due under the VA or social security if you have no license identification or social security card?”
Advocates across the country have long pointed to this problem as one of the most persistent barriers facing unhoused people. Without one key document, it can be difficult to obtain the next, and without those documents, services that could help a person stabilize remain out of reach.
How the Mobile homeless ID works
The city’s Homeless Outreach team can produce identification cards almost immediately upon request. Mobile Police Officer Justin Howard, who works with the team, said the card is issued only after a person’s identity is confirmed through law enforcement databases.
“When we print a homeless ID, it requires multiple things. It requires two identifications in one of our four databases. The preferred method would be via a digital fingerprint scanner, NCIC or LETS. Those are our two national and state databases that we use. You have to be identified in at least one of those. And then once we have said individual’s information and it’s been verified in multiple settings, I can print a homeless ID which is now accepted at the Social Security office.”
NCIC is the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, a nationwide database used by law enforcement agencies. LETS refers to Alabama’s Law Enforcement Tactical System, a state-level system used by Alabama law enforcement.
Howard said the entire process, from verification to printing, takes about 15 minutes.
What federal recognition changes
According to Howard, the Social Security Administration’s decision to add the card to its national identity document database means it can be used as supporting identification when a person applies for a replacement Social Security card.
A Social Security card is often one of the building blocks for obtaining other forms of identification and for applying for jobs and benefits, so being able to replace a lost card can open doors that were previously closed.
Howard said the city has been working with the local Social Security office and with First Steps for several months, and that national recognition was the key breakthrough.
“We’ve been partnered with the Social Security office and First Steps now for a few months. The big win was getting it recognized nationally, in the Social Security database so they can walk into any Social Security office now with this and it’ll be accepted.”
Because the card is now in the national database, a cardholder is not limited to Mobile’s Social Security office. According to Howard, the ID can be presented at any Social Security office.
Getting the word out, including to the courts
City officials say one of their priorities now is making sure people who work with unhoused residents know the program exists. That includes Mobile’s court system, where judges may encounter defendants or others who lack identification.
Cheriogotis, who served as a judge before being elected mayor, said he was not aware of the program during his time on the bench and wants to make sure current judges can point people toward it.
“I’m very proud of Dr. Kendell Young and his team. They’ve worked incredibly hard to make this a reality. I didn’t know about it when I was a judge so I’ve tried to make sure our judges do know so they can refer people to this program.”
About the Homeless Outreach team
Kendell Young joined the City of Mobile on July 1, 2024, as its first dedicated homeless outreach coordinator, working within the city’s Department of Public Safety. Before taking the city role, Young spent more than a decade serving Mobile’s unhoused population, including leadership roles at Waterfront Rescue Mission and Housing First, Inc.
Young leads the Homeless Outreach Team, which pairs Mobile Police Department officers with community resources to engage proactively with unhoused residents, build trust and connect them to services. When the city created the position, it said the team would work alongside partners such as AltaPointe, the Mobile County Health Department, Housing First, Waterfront Rescue Mission, the Salvation Army, McKemie Place and Ransom Ministries to address needs ranging from mental health and substance use to emergency shelter and transitional housing.
The city has said its approach was informed in part by a 2024 visit by city representatives to Harris County, Texas, to study how law enforcement there coordinates with community services to address homelessness in the Houston area.
When and where to get an ID
The Homeless Outreach team issues the ID cards twice a week:
- Tuesdays at the Waterfront Rescue Mission
- Thursdays at the Mobile Police Department’s Second Precinct
People seeking a card should be prepared for the identity verification process Howard described, which relies on fingerprint scanning or confirmation through state and national law enforcement databases.
What comes next
City leaders say they hope the card will serve as a first step for many residents, allowing them to replace a Social Security card and then pursue other documents and services, from employment to veterans’ and Social Security benefits they may be owed.
Residents, service providers, church groups and others who regularly work with people experiencing homelessness in Mobile can help by letting them know about the program and the weekly times and locations where the cards are issued.