Mobile ID Card Program For Homeless Hits Milestone
By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
September 23, 2026
MOBILE, Ala. A program in Mobile is getting national attention while helping the unhoused to obtain authentic identification cards.
While many homeless people have had a driver’s license, birth certificate or other forms of identification previously, some walk around without one shred of identification but that’s changing all because of a program that started in Mobile by the Homeless Outreach team.
Can you imagine applying for a job, shelter, food assistance or even medical care and you’re turned away because you have no identification?
“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?” Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis asked.
The Homeless Outreach team are able to make identification cards almost immediately upon request, and the social security administration has added the locally issued card to its national identity document database.
To be issued this identification card, the team 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.
The Homeless Outreach team issues the ID cards twice a week – on Tuesdays at the Waterfront Rescue Mission and on Thursdays at Mobile police’s second precinct.
Officer Justin Howard says federal recognition means the card can be used as supporting identification when someone applies for a replacement social security card.
The whole process takes about 15 minutes – from verification to printing.
“When we print a homeless ID, it requires multiple things,” he explains. “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.”
“I’m very proud of Dr. Kendell Young and his team,” Mayor Cheriogotis said. “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.”
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