SSD not enough for me to live on

[ipetloudog]

I'm 28 and have been on SSD since fall of 2008. I have a mild form of muscular dystrophy [congenital myopathy] and severe scoliosis. I live in buffalo NY and am receiving about $760 a mont. Unless I move in with about 3 other people [which has been next to impossible for me] I have no chance to actually live beyond my means and it seems like I keep banging my head against a wall for a solution. I'm tired of breaking down and living my already difficult life, on a day to day basis because of what I fought for for over 6 years isn't sufficient to keep myself in a steady home. I do receive food stamp benefits which help but I need help finding out what else I'm entitled to, to make sure I can live relatively comfortably for the rest of my disabled life.


Any help would be a godsend

-josh wojo in buffalo

[vision-master]

I'm 28 and have been on SSD since fall of 2008. I have a mild form of muscular dystrophy [congenital myopathy] and severe scoliosis. I live in buffalo NY and am receiving about $760 a mont. Unless I move in with about 3 other people [which has been next to impossible for me] I have no chance to actually live beyond my means and it seems like I keep banging my head against a wall for a solution. I'm tired of breaking down and living my already difficult life, on a day to day basis because of what I fought for for over 6 years isn't sufficient to keep myself in a steady home. I do receive food stamp benefits which help but I need help finding out what else I'm entitled to, to make sure I can live relatively comfortably for the rest of my disabled life.


Any help would be a godsend

-josh wojo in buffalo

My Brother has been living on $203 Month cash assistance for over a year waiting for on SSDI case. He would be rich if he had your kind of money.

[Pookie]

I need help finding out what else I'm entitled to, to make sure I can live relatively comfortably for the rest of my disabled life.
Call your state and or local county Social Services For Seniors/Disabled. Their phone numbers are listed in the Yellow Pages. Seniors & the disabled are given the same freebies and/or discounts.

Check with your state/county Housing department. Most have rental assistance programs for Seniors/Disabled other than the Section 8 programs.

To make your food stamps last longer, search out for any Food Banks in your area. The food is free. Your local food stamp office will have a list. Call around to the churches & local businesses in your area to find the ones that sponsor Food Banks.

When I was approved for SSDI, along w/all the paperwork there was a booklet listing all the freebies & discounts that are available for the disabled for the state & county I reside in.
Check all the booklets you received from SS in 2008.





Good luck!

[moose53]

Josh,

The biggest thing that would help you would be a Section 8 certificate. With one of these, you can live in an apartment or a house where the landlord accepts the certificate. This apartment does not have to be in public housing; a lot of landlords accept the certificates because the rent is guaranteed by the government. The apartment has to be certified by the housing authority -- for example, good locks on the doors, smoke detectors, handicapped-accessible (if needed). The process for the landlord is not that complicated. The rent will be approximately 1/3 of your income after certain expenses. The applications are handled by your local housing authority, but, the certificate is good state-wide.

You should be able to find your local housing authority using this link http://www.affordablehousingonline.com/housingauthoritysearch.asp. Keep in mind that the certificates are good statewide which means that if a large housing authority (for example, Boston, Massachusets) has a waiting list for certificates, you might be able to go to a smaller nearby town which hasn't used all of its certificates.

Take a look at the various links contained in this folder and see if there's something else that can help you: http://public.murl.com/moose53/GOVERNMENT. There's a benefits-checker in the "Benefits" folder and there are some state heat and air conditioning programs under the "States Portal" folder. Check with your local phone company -- some of them will reduce your phone bill if your income is limited. You could also get a cellphone from http://www.ldpost.com or http://www.ecallplus.com that would be about $10 every 30 days for service (after the initial layout for the phone). My son and I both have the http://www.ldpost.com/Prepaid-Mobile-Cellular-Wireless-Phones-Services_LDPOST.htm service. I've had the other one also; they're both good companies to deal with.

You mentioned food stamps. Make sure that you go to the food pantry, also. Difficult to do, especially for a guy, I know. But, the extra food that you get will help a lot. I get most of my canned goods there and some meat or chicken and some extras (cookies, cake mixes).

You'll be eligible for Medicare coverage two years from the date of eligibility that was on your letter stating that you had been approved for SSDI. This is usually done automatically; but you can call 1-800-MEDICARE to get more information. Also, based on your income, you might also be eligible for additional medical coverage from Medicaid. This is a dual state/federal program. Contact your local transitional assistance office to get more information.

This is all I can think of off the top of my head. Make sure to run the benefits checkers in the link that I gave you. They might turn up something else.

Josh, I know it's hard to adapt to. There's not a lot of room for "extras" ... heck there's not any room for "extras"; but, you can live on your income if you're careful. With the economy going the way it has been and will continue to go, there's gonna be a lot more people learning to live on less ... much less.

Good luck.

Barb

[annie]

Can't add much to what Barb said except for the one major thing she told me about five years ago and has left out here, probably because you aren't eligible for it yet. In some states the state will pay your Medicare premiums. This saves you a couple hundred a month. Thanks Barb!