Soccer has always held a special place in Raul Caraba's heart.

So when Sara Silvennoinen found the 24-year-old native of Romania in an Ann Arbor shelter two years ago and offered him the chance to join Michigan's only homeless soccer team, Caraba didn't need time to give the social worker an answer.

Yes. For sure. Right away.

"I gave it a try and since then," Caraba says, "I kept coming."

Caraba arrived in Ann Arbor in 2007 on a bus from Chicago, where he had moved with his family from Romania 11 years earlier. He had one friend here and Googled the city after struggling to get together with his parents.

He hopped on a bus, determined to make a new life for himself. But having no money, no job and with no place to go, Caraba found his way into the shelter, where Silvennoinen came looking for players.

Ann Arbor's Street Soccer program is one of 16 nationally. Teams stretch from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Each player has his own story, but has one thing in common.

Each understands what it means to live on the streets.

But when it comes to approaching them about playing soccer, sometimes the invitation isn't always accepted warmly.

"Some will curse you out," said Lawrence Cann, founder and chief executive officer of Street Soccer USA. "You just can't start telling people how to live their lives. You have to build that trust with them.

"But when you see them out there playing together as a team, it's a beautiful moment."

For Silvennoinen - a case manager with Washtenaw County's Project Outreach Team, the success rate has overwhelming.

Nearly 90 percent of those she ask end up on the field. In most cases, soccer is a foreign concept, allowing Silvennoinen to start from scratch. She will often invite people to come out and watch, but before long, first-time visitors become regular participants.

Cleats, uniforms and balls are donated, making joining PORT's team free of charge.

"We don't try and sell it as something that will make you feel better," said Ann Arbor Street Soccer co-coach Linda Bacigalupi. "We're just out there having fun, and that's what it's really all about.

"Hopefully, it ends up benefitting people in even more ways."

Soccer gives Silvennoinen and Bacigalupi initial contact with players. In time, they get to know their circumstances and how PORT can help them. In many cases, the Street Soccer program leads to permanent housing as well as educational and vocational opportunities.

In addition to making trips to local professional indoor soccer games, PORT's Ann Arbor team has participated in the Street Soccer USA National Cup in Washington, D.C., the last two years. The trip not only provides the chance to compete against other homeless soccer teams, it opens local players' lives up even more to Silvennoinen and Bacigalupi.

The two PORT coaches revel in every success story.

In Caraba's case, soccer has led to gaining access to Section 8 housing and to recently being hired as a meter reader for AccuRead, a company that works with DTE Energy.

After struggling with the helplessness that often comes with being homeless, Caraba - who played on Ann Arbor's 2008 National Cup team and who continues to practice with the team on Thursday afternoons - sees progress.

"Being homeless is rough and sometimes, you think, is there an end to it," he said. "But there's times when it's a great experience because I haven't appreciated a lot of things I had so far in my life. But at the same time, you wonder, 'Am I ever going to get out, am I ever going to make a living?'

"But now, things are starting to look bright."

Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2554 or jeffarnold@annarbor.com