"Hannah Jaffe Waltz wants to know"

Last night on NPR, What is life like for America's hidden 14 million?  by Hannah Jaffe Waltz.  They are reffering to the 14 million who collect disability income.  I will tell you, some of what i will tell her and she does want us to let her know what it is like.

Well, I'd bet that for persons waiting on ssi/ssdi most are thinking that their lives will improve quite a bit if they win.  That is very unlikely.  I got about 400 a month when i was approved in 2002.  I expected a huge back payment, because i first applied in 94, but did not win til 02.  My back payment?  3k.  I had to walk the first thousand over to my last landlord who i was indebted to.

My thinking was that I'd take the disability money and that would be enough for housing.  Boy was i dreaming.  My friend Dan told me to quit my job right away lest i get in trouble for working.  I did what he told me to do, and found that even with the ssi/ssdi I would still continue to cycle in and out of homelessness.

Maybe, when i get accepted into the subsidized housing life will get better.  I waited 11.5 years to get into my first subsidized unit.  I have been largely in subsidied housing since, however, my life has been consumed with violent crime ever since the day I got accepted into it.  You wouldn't think, one would still go hungry or even starve but that did happen to me.  It may be why I have severe nerve damage and weakness.

I'd love to tell people waiting on disability benefits that their lives will improve, but it is extremely unlikely it will improve by much, unless the applicant was lucky enough to have high earnings while they were working.