When I became disabled at the age of 27, I wasn't expecting to be frozen out of my benefits.
While the news rages about cutting Social Security Disability benefits, what about the real financial problem behind being denied of this process altogether? What about the young people that desperately need disability but are chronically denied their benefits for 3 to 10 years due to their age?
After all, if you cannot prepare meals or bathe because you are disabled, when do social services step in? Unfortunately, too many young people, that do everything right with careers and money, can still find themselves frozen out financially from their benefits. Here is how I survived those five dark years without the ability to rely on family support or help from the government.
Denied Social Security for fallacious reasons
When I was denied for disability benefits for the second time, three years after I applied the first time, I was informed by my lawyer certain facts that went against me winning my case. In short, those items were that I was under the age of 35, I didn't have any kids, I was not mentally ill, I did not have a criminal record, I was never admitted to a drug or alcohol rehab program, and I had a college education.
Hearing this was a complete shock to me. However, since the decision is made by a judge, there is no way to control this. My lawyer said that he knew the judge that handled my claim and these were the things that he used to decide whether or not I would get my Social Security benefits. Of course, I was outraged because these things had nothing to do with my very real and disabling disability. Plus, I was becoming more disabled and unhealthy because I wasn't able to afford the diet and medication I needed.
Good-bye unemployment
Although I had 18 months of savings in my bank when I became disabled, I went through it all in less than three years. At that point, I applied for Unemployment Insurance. This check brought in a small amount of money until I had a migraine related seizure at the Unemployment Office. After that, the Unemployment Office said I was required to have a letter from a doctor that showed I was not disabled.
Naturally, my doctors were not able to show that I was abled and my unemployment benefits were prematurely terminated. In other words, I was too disabled to get unemployment, but I was denied any disability financial assistance
.
Too young for teacher disability benefits
I worked for a private school for a short period of time, but kept the disability benefit enrollment long after I went to a new job. Although I paid into the account for five years, when I became disabled, I was denied my benefits. Also, since I was no longer able to make the monthly payment, they closed my account. Afterward, they sent me a check for $1,200 and stated it was all that I was owed.
However, in five years, I paid almost $4000 to this account. As it turns out, there is fine print on many of these kinds of supplemental disability benefit plans. They state that if you become prematurely disabled, you lose the ability to draw on that plan.
At least you get food stamps
I was always grateful to have Food Stamps. However, when doctors needed to change my diet in order to improve my health, the $150 I received monthly wasn't enough. Appealing to the Food Stamp Office didn't result in correcting this problem. Instead, my health deteriorated significantly.
Community was my only money
By not following doctors orders and being homeless, I did lose a large part of my vision. Would I be partially blind now if I had access to the money that was supposed to be there for me when I became disabled? Probably not. Unfortunately, the only bright side to all of this is that I had great friends.
While the news rages about cutting Social Security Disability benefits, what about the real financial problem behind being denied of this process altogether? What about the young people that desperately need disability but are chronically denied their benefits for 3 to 10 years due to their age?
After all, if you cannot prepare meals or bathe because you are disabled, when do social services step in? Unfortunately, too many young people, that do everything right with careers and money, can still find themselves frozen out financially from their benefits. Here is how I survived those five dark years without the ability to rely on family support or help from the government.
Denied Social Security for fallacious reasons
When I was denied for disability benefits for the second time, three years after I applied the first time, I was informed by my lawyer certain facts that went against me winning my case. In short, those items were that I was under the age of 35, I didn't have any kids, I was not mentally ill, I did not have a criminal record, I was never admitted to a drug or alcohol rehab program, and I had a college education.
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Library of Congress original caption states, "Political chestnuts. Dis. Judge T. Werber Wilson of the Virgin Islands who appeared before Monday's Senate investigation and inferred that Gov. Paul Pearson had used the Judge's name and office to pull "political chestnuts" out of the fire. Judge Wilson told the com. Monday that he had warned Gov. Pearson not to do it any more. 7/8/1935" |
Good-bye unemployment
Although I had 18 months of savings in my bank when I became disabled, I went through it all in less than three years. At that point, I applied for Unemployment Insurance. This check brought in a small amount of money until I had a migraine related seizure at the Unemployment Office. After that, the Unemployment Office said I was required to have a letter from a doctor that showed I was not disabled.
Naturally, my doctors were not able to show that I was abled and my unemployment benefits were prematurely terminated. In other words, I was too disabled to get unemployment, but I was denied any disability financial assistance
.
Too young for teacher disability benefits
I worked for a private school for a short period of time, but kept the disability benefit enrollment long after I went to a new job. Although I paid into the account for five years, when I became disabled, I was denied my benefits. Also, since I was no longer able to make the monthly payment, they closed my account. Afterward, they sent me a check for $1,200 and stated it was all that I was owed.
However, in five years, I paid almost $4000 to this account. As it turns out, there is fine print on many of these kinds of supplemental disability benefit plans. They state that if you become prematurely disabled, you lose the ability to draw on that plan.
At least you get food stamps
I was always grateful to have Food Stamps
. However, when doctors needed to change my diet in order to improve my health, the $150 I received monthly wasn't enough. Appealing to the Food Stamp Office didn't result in correcting this problem. Instead, my health deteriorated significantly.
Community was my only money
By not following doctors orders and being homeless, I did lose a large part of my vision. Would I be partially blind now if I had access to the money that was supposed to be there for me when I became disabled? Probably not. Unfortunately, the only bright side to all of this is that I had great friends.
