My Support Forums - View Single Post - Benefits arrr they make me want to end it all

Nammu · 12:50 PM

Yes things like that happen here too. Every year I have to fill out tons of paper work proving I still have no money, that nobody is living with me, that I'm not selling drugs and living high off the government!! I really don't understand why anyone with money would want to bother filling out all these forms, yet every few years it seems there is a documentary on TV about people who are getting money illegally-how and why they do it I don't know but they make it a hassle for the rest of us.

This year it all came down all at the same time, when I was depressed. I hadn't left my place except to see my T, stop at a food store, and maybe the 1/2 price book store. I forgot to get my mail for weeks and when I did, I didn't look and it. Then one day a card slipped under the door. The housing inspector had been here. I looked at my mail. If I missed my inspection I would be kicked out in two weeks-My lease is not up for 6 months. Just like a government! They can walk away, but if I sign I'm in for the full year!! I called explained I was home didn't have my hearing aids on. One more chance. Then missed the appointment with the interviewer who goes over all the paperwork plus could not find my paper work, plus I forgot to email SSDI to send my prove that I get money from the government so I could show it to the government! Thank goodness this is a woman I've seen ever since I've had the apartment and she knows this isn't normal for me. She gave me another appointment but the paper comes with the standard warning if you miss your 2nd appointment you will be kicked out--I really do not need the stress right now.

Plus everything they need is all over the city and my printer is out of ink and I can't afford two $50 ink refills. Gas is too high to drive all over. I have to go though tons of receipts for medical expense's, get copy's from all my doc's how many times I drove to their office, pharmacy print outs, , on and on. I needed the same info for the food stamp people and QMB people, and copied for the application I filled out for a transportation for disabilities that I was told about.

I'm still trying to get the interview with the food stamp people. My car died(that was a day in hell) so I called them and asked to please change it to a phone interview. I called and made sure they understood, each and every person I talked to, I explained the reason I had wanted to come in person was because every time somebody is suppose to call me, they don't understand I have a TTY and they mess up TTY calls, the very last person even went and asked the counselor if she knew how to make a TTY call, she said yes! (TTY is a phone for the deaf-on my end I type, it goes to an interpreter who reads it to the other person who talks to the terp who then types back to me)- and I can't do busses. I take pain medication that would make me sick if I go out in the heat very long--it's over 100 degrees out there. The busses that they call mass transportation only run every 20-30 min, so every connection means siting in the sun waiting. The bus stops are a joke.Sure enough, I sat right next to the phone 15 min before they were supposed to call and they never called. Last time I called I had the shortest wait-I was informed my call would be answered in 24 min. I haven't had the heart to try again. Somewhere in the middle of trying to deal with the foodstamp people I called the Mental Health Deputy because all this and my car dying on my was overwhelming and I needing to talk to someone face to face not the phone and hopefully they could give me some resources-but nope they sent an untrained cop who instead of listening to me put me on a hold and stuck me in a hospital for 72 plus horrible hours.

The letter for how much my rent is for the next year is probably in the mail. I'm afraid to go get it. I'm only supposed to pay 1/3 of my income, last year my income went up 40%. At first they gave me a decent amount of food stamps, then they cut it in 1/2, then they took 10 more dollars. Oh the governments just peachy. And if the wrong person gets elected it will get even better.

(very sarcastic that!)

God save the Queen and all that. I was going to say hard to believe that they don't understand the amount of stress they are putting on you when they mess with the security of financial stability, but it's not really hard to believe, government is gov, no matter where. When you know you have this amount for 12 months--thats one thing off your plate--you can then focus on the other stresses. But man to keep switching it around and then say they don't understand why that stresses you. I'm sorry. It is hard, to focus on the healing with that hanging on the back of your brain, homelessness is major. Can your Pdoc and/T can help with this. I feel a bit connected because oddly I was 9 when my trauma happened and I didn't even remember until I was older. So I do relate. My Pdoc's and T did pretty much all the work getting my disability I don't remember much, except I didn't want to at first.

I kinda figure why do I need food stamps? I don't have a car, I can't get to the store anyways.