Ann Arbor

 Coaches: Sara  Silvennoinen and Linda Bacigalupi

 Year of participation:  Second

 Organization: Washenaw County Social Services' Street Outreach Team

 Level of programming: 2D

Washtenaw County Michigan is located in the southeastern part of the state, and is home to several cities, towns, and townships, such as Ypsilanti, Chelsea, and Ann Arbor (lair of the University of Michigan Wolverines!).  The Project OutReach Team, or “PORT”, is a county service provider affiliated with the Washtenaw County Community Mental Health system.  PORT offers a wide array of services to mentally ill individuals who are homeless and/or are involved with the local criminal justice system.  Services include engagement, community and jail-based psychiatric treatment, jail diversion services, case management, dual diagnosis treatment, trauma-informed and trauma-specific treatment, vocational rehabilitation services, a community garden, and, as strange as it may sound, soccer.

The Street Soccer program at Project OutReach Team, a.k.a., “S.S. PORT,” is open to homeless adults in Washtenaw County, adults who are or have been receiving services from the local homeless shelter, and individuals who are affiliated with PORT services.  You may be wondering how it came to be that soccer is now considered an important aspect of engagement and treatment at a county agency funded to house and/or divert the mentally ill from jail.  Here is our story.

In February 2006 on a fluke, while searching the internet to prove to her supervisor John Loring that Finland has services for the homeless (don’t ask), Sara Silvennoinen, PORT’s resident Finn,  PORT case manager,  certified addictions counselor, and  out-of-the-closet soccer freak, discovered the existence of the Homeless World Cup.

Being the soccer fanatic and advocate for the homeless that she is, Sara couldn’t believe her luck, and subsequently learned all she could about the program.  She researched what she could on the web and then approached PORT Program Administrator, Deb Pippins, about forming our own homeless soccer team.  Deb did not hesitate to support the idea.  At the time, I (Linda Bacigalupi, Jail Diversion Specialist and S.S.PORT co-coach) was a newly hired employee at PORT (i.e., eager to please and unlikely to say “no” to anything asked of her by co-workers).  So when Sara asked…rather, informed me that I would be assisting her in this endeavor, I assented, ignorant as to the scope of the venture I was getting myself into.  She then contacted Lawrence Cann, Homeless U.S. Cup guru, and, with Deb’s unfailing support, attended a Street Soccer conference in North Carolina that summer.  Sara had the opportunity during that trip to observe and learn from Lawrence and his brother Rob how they formed and organized their program and how beneficial it is for their players.

Inspired and guided by the Cann brothers, Sara began to develop a local homeless soccer team.  S.S. PORT was born and kicked it’s first ball in August 2007.  By the time the 2008 U.S. Cup rolled around, we had recruited one of our program’s nurses, Jim Bastian, to co-facilitate the team with us.  The three of us took 7 players to compete in the US Cup in June of 2008.  S.S.PORT placed 4th of 12 teams from across the country.  One of our players who was one of only two female players at the U.S. Cup received the Washington Kastles Trophy awarded to the Best Female Athlete.  Sara was awarded the honor of co-coaching the U.S. Team which travelled to Australia in December 2008 and placed 29th out of 56 teams.  Most importantly, of the 7 players who participated in the Cup, all 7 are now housed, 4 are employed, and 6 still participate with the team in practices, playing in an indoor league, and assisting with fundraising. 

Because there are no funds within the county budget to support the S.S.PORT program, we decided it was imperative to organize a fundraising event for the team.  In late March of 2009, Sara, Jim, and I, along with the vital cooperation, support, and assistance of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and WideWorld Sports Center (<http://wideworld-sports.com/site3.aspx>), held the first annual fundraising effort to support the ongoing existence of the S.S.PORT program.  Funds raised would also be slated towards the yearly trip to the U.S. Cup.  The event, “Kicking Homelessness to the Curb ” was a successful soccer match between the S.S.PORT players and the Sheriff’s Office at WideWorld.  The exciting game fatefully ended in a 6-6 tie.  The players were nonetheless victorious in the bonds they created with Sheriff’s deputies and the public support generated by the event.

Since the successful fundraiser, S.S.PORT continues to meet weekly to practice.  During the cold months, WideWorld generously donates an hour of practice time for S.S.PORT in its facility.  During the warm months, we practice at a local park on a softball field and, more recently, on a cement basketball court to prepare for the flat pitch at the U.S. Cup.

Ann Arbor's 2009 "Kicking Homelessness to the Curb" Fundraiser