How dare they!

March 8, 2016

Last year I got a surprising letter in the mail: I was coming up on the waiting list for Section 8! Section 8 is a housing program where the tenant pays up to 30% of their income in rent and the government pays the rest. This is huge!

Now, it’s not all great. Section 8 has strict rent limits that are very hard to meet. For example, in my town the rent would need to be no more than $1187 per month, including all utilities. I haven’t heard of a 1-bedroom apartment for so little in many years. Still, I figured it would be worth trying.

The waiting list for Section 8 can be 3-4 years. I’ve only been on the list for 2 years! Wow! So now it’s time to prepare, right? They need a lot of paperwork. Of course. I handed it all over.

Now, if you’ve ever applied for benefits in the U.S., you know how intrusive it can be. They want to know how much your income is. They want to know your spending on every little thing. They want your social security card, driver’s license, bank statements, copies of approval letters for all other benefits (because heaven forbid the agencies actually speak to each other!) and all sorts of other things. But I do it, because that’s how I’m sort of paying the bills right now.

I really hate handing over bank statements. There’s something about that which feels particularly intrusive and unnerving. But I did it. 12 months of bank statements. It took ages to print out all of the statements and white out the account numbers. Still, they showed which bank was mine, how much money I had, what I deposited, what I paid out, my name and address, etc.

And they lost them.

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail saying they needed my bank statements. I contacted the woman in charge of my case and she said she didn’t have them. I had her look again. She still didn’t have them.

What the fuck!?! They lost my bank statements for all of 2015!!

And now they want another copy. I know they want that copy before they’ll give me benefits, but is it worth it? Because honestly, I don’t know that it is. I’m not sure I’ll be able to use Section 8 anyway. And what if they lose them again? I was so unnerved that I didn’t even want to mail those statements, so I hand delivered them to the office. I really couldn’t have done more.

I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I know I’m pissed. And I’m going to let them know that. Because this is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!

5 Comments | Expectations, Frustration, Insensitive, Politics, Rants | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Yes, I’m one of them

December 9, 2015

I was talking to some friends about some tough decisions I need to make about benefits. One of them said, more than once, that I might need them for a while, but those benefits aren’t meant for my “demographic.” They’re not for people like me. But the thing is, they really are.

I understand why she said it. We both grew up in middle class families in the same middle class neighborhood. We both went to college, then graduate school. We both got middle class jobs. We followed all the “rules” and now we’re supposed to have our happy middle class lifestyles. She is a stay at home mom. Her husband earns a very large salary. She has that middle class lifestyle.

I don’t.

There’s an idea that benefits are meant for other people. The people who aren’t middle class. The people who don’t have jobs. Well, as it turns out, that’s me.

Those benefits are for people with physical and mental illness. People who can’t work. Yup, me again.

People think they’re for people who are older. But they aren’t. They’re for people of all ages. Including people in their 30s like me.

My friend means well. She tries to understand. She is one of the only people in my life who knew me before I was sick, and she understands my health problems better than most. But she can’t accept that it’s permanent because she doesn’t want to. It hurts her to think of me in pain. I get that. I feel the same when someone close to me is in pain; I pretend it can’t be serious or permanent, even when it obviously is. That’s how she feels about me.

But it doesn’t change things.

So yes, I’m one of those people. The other ones. The ones who aren’t us. Except sometimes they are. Sometimes they’re one of us. Sometimes we’re one of them. It doesn’t matter if you grew up rich or poor or somewhere in between, whether you got advanced degrees or didn’t finish high school, you can be too sick to work. And when that happens, benefits like food stamps, Medicaid, and section 8 are helpful. Even when we don’t want them, we need them.

Like it or not, we’re one of them.

6 Comments | Expectations, Frustration, Insensitive, Isolation, Limitations, Politics, Rants, Relationships: Family & Friends & Dating & Sex | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Freaking out about the possibility of Section 8

November 27, 2015

Life has never been easy or predictable. At one point I thought it was, but back then I assumed I’d have my PhD, be married and have kids by the time I was 30. Now I’m well past 30, I haven’t spoke to that guy in 13 years, there are no kids, and I never did finish the PhD. I have no regrets. I’m just saying, life is unpredictable.

And in case I dared to forget it, the last few hours have reminded me all too clearly.

Life has been less certain than ever since I left my job 4 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Still, after a ton of work and effort, research, new doctors, new treatments, and fighting with insurance companies, I finally reached a point where I felt I might be able to do a little part time work. I was nervous, but also hopeful. It would be so nice not to have to worry about being on benefits that didn’t cover all the bills.

Today I did some work on that new business. I was feeling really excited about it! At 4pm I was jazzed, telling my mother all about my new plans and progress, outlining some next steps for myself, and imagining the possibility that this might actually work! At 5:30 I decided to check the mail. At 5:35, everything changed.

I had an unexpected letter.

I’m near the top of the waiting list for Section 8, so they want to start getting my paperwork ready and have an interview with me. Holy fuck! What just happened???

For those who don’t know, Section 8 is a housing voucher program. If you earn less than a certain amount, you’re eligible. Typically, you then pay 30% of your rent and the government pays the rest. There aren’t a lot of vouchers and the waiting list is long. When I signed up, I was told the wait was 3-4 years, so I put it out of my head. Whenever it popped back in, I reminded myself that I had a long wait and shouldn’t plan for it. And now, a year and a half later, it seems like it could soon be a reality. Sounds good, right?

Of course, like with anything, there are a few catches. For one thing, if you start earning more, then you lose the Section 8, and I don’t know what happens then. Would I have to move? And to use it in the first place I might have to move, and my choices would be very limited. Not all landlords accept Section 8 vouchers and I don’t know if mine does. Many don’t. Then there’s the problem that there are rental limits, and they’re pretty low for this area, so that makes it significantly harder to find a place.

Of course, this is just what I’ve heard and read. The truth is, I don’t know a lot. I have so many questions, but I got the letter at 5:30pm on a Friday, of course, so I need to wait all weekend before I can call and ask any of them.

So now I’m wondering, is this a good thing? It seems like it should be a good thing. If I’m doing the math right, this would mean I could almost cover all of my bills every month! There would be a small gap, maybe $50-$100 per month, but I could handle that. I get paid for small jobs here and there, and I get birthday and Chanukah checks, so I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem. And would it be amazing to not have to worry about money?!? Ok, sure, I still wouldn’t have anything extra. It’s not like I could suddenly start eating out more, buying more clothes, or traveling. But it’s not like I really have to do any of those things anyway. So…. maybe this is good?

I’m nervous. I’m so used to things going wrong that it feels like there must be a big catch here that I’m not seeing yet. But then, what if there isn’t….?

If you’re on Section 8, what has your experience been like? What questions should I be asking? What should I know?

 

3 Comments | Expectations, Politics, Rants, Raves, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

The problem with SSDI’s trial work program

July 28, 2015

When you’re on SSDI (social security disability insurance) the presumption is that your disability prevents you from working. Ok, I get that. But what if you want to return to work part time or full time? Ah, that’s and interesting process.20120809_220808

Everyone gets a different amount of money through SSDI. The formula is based on how much you paid into the system, and that in turn comes from the salary you earned and over how many months you earned it. You might be getting $900 per month or $1800 per month. If you’re on SSDI for more than 2 years then you’re eligible for Medicare, which is health insurance. You’re also more likely to be eligible for other benefits.

Now, what happens if you start doing some work? Well, at a certain point the SSA (Social Security Administration) decides that you’re able to support yourself. That point is a set number. It’s not a percentage of your benefit. Nope. It’s a set number: $1090 per month right now (this can change each year.) So if your benefit is $900 and you start earning $1100 then you lose SSDI and Medicare, but that might be ok with your extra income if you’re earning $1100 every month. You might only earn it occasionally, though (more on that in a bit.) But if your benefit is $1800 and you earn $1100, then you lose SSDI and Medicare and, unless you have unearned income from some source (like a spouse, alimony, or investments) then you’re probably screwed.

That’s how I feel now: screwed. I’m ready to do some small amounts of work, which is exciting in and of itself! I recently earned around $1100! This is very exciting! If it was all in 1 month, though, it would count towards my return to work trial period of 9 months total. Those total 9 months are spread out over 5 years, so I could work for 2 months per year, and still lose my benefits. That’s not good! Luckily for me, it was spread out over 3 months, at an average of under $400 per month. What a relief!

But wait, isn’t there something wrong with the system if I feel relieved to earn less money? Shouldn’t the goal be to get me back to work so that I don’t need benefits?

What if I make more than $1090 per month for 3 months this year? Then what if the same thing happens again next year? I’d stop working altogether so I wouldn’t risk going off benefits. I can’t afford to have 0 income, and I definitely can’t afford to lose my health insurance!

Instead, the system should encourage me to work part time with the hope that I would build up to more part time work or even full time work! The trial work period should only cover a short timeframe, like a certain number of months worked in a 1 or 2 year period. There should be a grace period for Medicare.

But with the current setup, I’m scared to attempt to go back to work. What if I try to work, lose my benefits, and then fail to continue working? Yes, there’s a grace period where I can get back on benefits, but it’s short. And I’m scared. It took me more than 2 years to get on SSDI in the first place. I can’t take a chance on losing it.

And that’s why the system doesn’t work.

Have you felt the same way about SSDI? How do you handle it? Do you hold back on the amount of work you do in order to stay on benefits?

8 Comments | Expectations, Frustration, Healthcare, Insensitive, Job, Limitations, Politics, Rants | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

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