No one cares about people on SSI

Apparently "low income" and "affordable" housing means someone who makes at least $1200 a month.

Where I live people on SSI make $733 a month. If the rent for a low income apartment is $300, they still need you to make $900. It's the same thing, over and over. And everything is full, has a long waiting list, requires a credit check, and someone checked my credit score and it is only 300. so requirements of high credit and income never work out. There is nothing. Housing for me does not exist.

What is the point of giving someone that money when it doesn't even cover a place for them to live?

I honestly think the system is rigged to keep people dependent on the system and no way out. I think there's this idea people with SSI benefits will/should have others to rely on for housing assistance and money. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's so bad what happens to people.

Exactly. People always ask about family. I've been living with the only family I can live with for the last year. They don't want me here and I'm a burden to them because I can't pay enough to take care of their house. Most people don't want to have family living with them in their home long term. Someone on another website asked me, "well can't you find a better family member to live with?"....they just don't get it.

I'm actually starting to believe the government is trying to kill me by making sure I have nowhere to go.

Anna,

I am very happy to hear that you have been finally awarded SSI. It is a big award emotionally! Have you checked out if there are any relatively close companies that help the disabled?

Nashville TN Low Income Housing | Nashville Low Income Apartments | Low Income Housing in Nashville, TN

I highly recommend going to each of the properties listed, and fill out an application. They may have long lists of people waiting....but, sometimes, they go through their lists a lot more quickly than they anticipated. Another option may be to check out other cities, and see how their lists look. It can't hurt to look.

I think that the waiting list at the place where I am living was long, but the manager got through the list more quickly than anticipated & my wait was only a few months after I had applied. Pretty good, considering the wait time was 2 years!! So, yes, that DOES happen.

Gentle hugs sent your way, Anna! I've been there ~ it isn't fun at all, I know. But, things will improve for you. Remind yourself of that often & do all that you can to keep the ball rolling, in the meantime. Oh ~ do call agencies that help disabled. There are LOTS of ways that they can help you make it through.Check out that link ASAP!

I have the same issue with SSDI. 80% of what I get goes toward rent. This system is designed so poorly to keep us trapped as one person mentioned Rent keep going up and this tiny 1% cost of living raise they give (every 3 yrs) is not enough to get by.

Sometimes, no one cares about people period!!

Have u been to the Housing Authority to apply for a section 8? or low income? usually the first step is to go through them. Yes, there will be a waiting list!

Also like someone else said, Nashville and some of its surrounding cities are not very affordable, u might have to reach out to a smaller, more unprogressive city to live in just to get cheaper housing.

Do u have to stay in that area? Would you be alright going somewhere new on your own? or can u move somewhere near relatives where you will feel more secure?

That Section 8 voucher is the best thing for you to try to get. It's a federal program through HUD, so you can apply no matter what state you live in. As Hairball, above, says, go to your local housing authority and apply.

Unfortunately, there is a waiting list and it can be a few years long. I think I was on the list about 4 years. I have even heard that, in some high-demand localities, the list can be closed to new applicants, when it gets beyond a certain length.

The waiting absolutely sucks, I know, but get on it, if you can. Once you get it, you pay no more than 1/3rd of your income in rent. Some recipients are even allowed to pay just a nominal sum of between $5 and $25 per month. The federal government pays the rest of the rent. How expensive an apartment they will let you get depends on the cost of living where you live. Example: a Section 8 subsidy for a person in San Diego, CA, will be a lot higher than for that same person, if they lived in Rolla, Missouri.

A lot of landlords are quite happy to rent to tenants who have a Section 8 voucher. They know that check from HUD will be coming right to them directly every month, as long as they maintain their property in decent condition.

Living with relatives, out of financial necessity, is an absolutely awful position to be in. You have my profoundest condolences. It is true that relatives don't want you, if you are not a source of some financial gain to them.

The programs you are describing are not the only ones out there. That Section 8 voucher program is the one to shoot for. It sounds like you may not be aware of it. I have it. I can move anywhere in the United States and take my "voucher" with me. It is a portable federal benefit. Of course, the availability of apartments open to voucher holders can vary from place to place. Greenwich, CT, may have zero supply of those apartments. But I will pay the same rent no matter where I go with my voucher.

The option of moving is mentioned above. I know that can seem like like an overwhelmingly difficult challenge. Still, you might want to entertain the thought of doing so. I once spent 3 months living in a shelter. While I was there, I met women who had traveled to my city just to stay in this shelter and apply for help here. My city has a fairly low cost of living and a comparatively large supply of low rent apartments in reasonably safe neighborhoods. My brother actually moved here from Chattanooga, TN, where he had been homeless because I advised him that he might get off the street more easily here. It went pretty much as I had predicted, and he got into a decent housing situation.

Anna, I hope you find a way out of your present circumstances, which I can easily believe must feel pretty distressing.

"The government" is NOT designed to help people, who really need it.
It is an inefficient, costly (for taxpayers) MESS, only successful at sending weekly paychecks to those who are comfortable working for an "agency" that is inefficient and heartless.

Bold? Yes,
and my apologies to those who are hard-workers employed by a government agency...You just work for them, you didn't create the system...
And if you're one of the few who still has an ounce of compassion or concern for those who desperately come to you for help- Kudos to you and please keep it up.

The inept system is designed for those who want and are willing to make it their permanent lifestyle - They'll follow all the ridiculous rules and loopholes carefully, lie when they have to, to get that government check indefinitely, whether they need it or not.

For those who for reasons such as:
refuse to lie, refuse to be treated like a loser, wish to retain their dignity and pride or simply just don't want to be owned by the government for the rest of their lives- "Those" either figure out a way to survive on their own or FAIL.

While the HUD suggestion sounds useful/helpful for those who can wait for years,
my advice is to NEVER trust or expect our government to care about you and those traumas and events that brought you to the point of needing or expecting "their" help.

Your statement, is understandable, but save yourself the heartache by accepting they are NOT trying to kill you, they simply do NOT care if you are dead or alive, or any other detail about you or your life...You're just an invisible being with a SS#, which is the only thing they ever will care about, or notice (tracking) when you do die.

You said, "I'm actually starting to believe the government is trying to kill me by making sure I have nowhere to go"

You would likely get more compassion or concern (about your life and situation) from a stranger in the street...
And that's the only advice I can give, is to try develop relationships with decent people, while expecting NOTHING from any government agency;
FRIENDS are the only type of agency you can ever "expect" to count on.

Tough (making friends when your life is in such chaos or stress),
but the only thing I notice is present for those who run into life problems and get help -
It's their friends (or family if available and not dysfunctional) who care about them, that gets them through the tough times.

Btw, I like many, found out the hard way, that my so-called friends were not, when life got tough - But being smacked over and over by the government and all their ridiculous (foolishly enacted) rules & laws,
I'm past that...And don't even bother anymore to try to get help.

---Obviously there are people I know who really needed help in their lifetimes and got it, from a government agency - -But that's not the norm.

Those who typically do get past the red tape, are those who really could eventually work and be independent, but simply do not want to...
Or more commonly the gov't keeps them stuck in the system
-They make a little too much and benefits get cancelled which places them even lower had they not worked so hard to increase/improve their income.

I tried for a few years (while being homeless living and working from hotels)...I finally accepted how useless our gov't is,
I think it was when in the same week when one agency said I made too much (their max was $400/month) and wanted me to shut down my business and career of decades before applying---
And another agency said I made too little (for them to lend me a deposit to get a home).

As for my experience with FEMA post hurricane Sandy, I can't even think of the words to describe how corrupt and hurtful they were, for so many!
While they were comfortably staying and willingly paying exorborant rates (with taxpayers money) at our local hotels, those whose homes were damaged couldn't even consider matching the rates the government so willingly wasted to have the FEMA workers nearby (doing very little at the locations they set-up)!

Government? NO!

Decent people and strangers? Yes!
They will be the only ones who (might) care about your comfort and well-being and survival.

I do, and I hope a miracle leads you (and me) to get those things you need to be at peace and safe.
Only somebody who has been withOUT a home, understands the dread, panic, and trauma every day can be.
And I hope your knowing that others like me care and understand how you feel (outraged and beat-up) by those who don't care, and those who your life is meaningless to (almost like you are invisible and don't exist),
I hope, my wish, for only good things to happen to you,
places a ray of sunshine in your life today.

I'm sorry for all you have been through but I find this really insulting. I want nothing more than to not need the assistance I have. I want nothing in the world more than I want to return to my career. But I'm too impaired by mental illness. And I won't apologize because I have the help I do or have had in the past. I know the system can be hard to get through (believe me, I've had my struggles), but I battle my way through like everyone else and have gotten nothing but what I am entitled to. I know that it can be a real fight to get what you are entitled to (again, I have been through the fight and am about to have my annual battle with Medicaid) but I certainly am not cheating the system or are most people I know with government benefits.

Please take your anger out on the system, not on others who are struggling. Maybe not the same struggle on this specific day but still very valid struggles.

I hear you.

When I just go to the grocery store for an half an hour I have a panic attack and have to sit down on a bench before I can finish shopping. I don't see how it would be possible for me to have a job where I'm on my feet all day long and around people and all of the jobs that don't require that want some type of experience. Usually people like me who have nothing would work in retail or fast food, something customer service, because they assume communication is a natural talent for most. But for me it's the worst thing ever and in the past has sent me to the hospital.

I don't know what will happen in the future--if a job was available that involved working alone, at a computer and didn't need any experience or degrees, I would take it. Expecting me to work around people is like expecting a paralyzed person to work in construction. But as usual, people don't see mental illness in the same way they see physical.

I hate being disliked or judged, and I'm in one of the most hated groups in America--so if I had a way not to be hated, I would obviously choose it. But I can either be hated or starve to death.

I never lied or cheated either-I've been hospitalized over 30 times since I was 15, long before I even applied. Actually I was in the hospital and it was my case worker who was trying to get me approved, so I never spoke to anyone at all-they looked at my history. People can technically lie or cheat at anything, their jobs and school even-and it doesn't make every employee or student a cheater any more than it makes everyone on benefits cheaters.

People also don't seem to understand if a person is scamming the system or not. Examples of scammers would be someone who is collecting multiple checks, working a full time job and not reporting it, or faking medical records. (And I don't understand why they would go through all that trouble for $730/month anyway), NOT just someone who people,who are not doctors think isn't disabled enough. Non-professionals don't have a right to diagnose others.

I wish you all the best

SSI = SUPPLEMENTAL security income. Supplemental implies that it is in ADDITION to other income. In other word, it SUPPLEMENTS.

SSI is not meant to replace income and it is not meant to provide a comfortable lifestyle or make them have average earnings. It was designed to help those in the most difficult financial situation.

I never asked for a comfortable lifestyle. I asked for a roof over my head because I cannot work to earn other money. I accept living in poverty because there's nothing I can do about it but I need shelter and food to survive. I also never asked for average earnings.

The entire reason I received SSI in the first place was because I was determined to be UNABLE to work. They didn't just look at my income I was making and say I needed a supplement. I had no income before this, so that's what confuses me. If they were just trying to supplement me, why would they care in the application process if I could work or not?

I don't have the energy for this thread anymore.

You are right. SSI is ridiculous. It is hard to make it on SSDI when unable to work extra, much less the limits of SSI. I don't know what I would do if I hadn't been able to get SSDI. I'm terrified of what happens when my mom is no longer here because I live with low rent in a house she owns. I'm dreading the new year because Med D will inevitably get more expensive and there is little chance of a raise this year for SSDI so I just lose income.

I wish I knew the answers or had some way to help you.

Your understanding already helps me

I wish I could've at least had SSDI but I had no work history

I also wanted to add that I'm on the waiting list for HUD and will be at the top in June 2017 , so at least this will eventually end. I've been babysitting my cousin's friend's daughter 3 times a week and it makes a big difference with money so I've also been able to save up in case the apartment I move to needs a deposit or something.

Something I do for a little extra money is swagbucks.com You watch videos, do surveys, search with their search engine, etc and earn small amounts that do add up. I make $25-$50 per month and some people earn much more than that. You can cash it in for gift cards or paypal. (Just so you know I'm not getting anything for suggesting this; it is just something that has helped me.) I've made about $2100 in the last 4 years I think (I have had times I've made more than other times).

Congratulations on getting on the HUD list and hanging in there. When you get that apartment subsidy, you will feel so much more secure.

You need to look into Affiliate Marketing or perhaps ebay, shopify, etc.

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Anna,

As I may have mentioned in other threads, my best friend works for the largest homeless shelter (and provider of services for the homeless) in Hawaii, and Oahu has a serious homeless problem. He was a case worker for a while, which involved taking responsibility for a caseload of 40 homeless 'clients' (I think they're actually officially referred to as "consumers", which I find tacky). He would negotiate their passage through the public health system when they were sick, hunted them down in their usual haunts to check on them and see if they needed anything, and coordinated their benefit eligibility and fulfillment, so he constantly had to deal with the Catch-22 of maximum income, minimum credit score, qualification and long and slow lines for Section 8 subsidized housing, and endless other complications that kept people from receiving housing, medical insurance coverage and cash benefits to which they were qualified and entitled. I mention all this because there may be a similar shelter or homeless advocacy organization in your city that knows the ropes and can help you get the benefits you deserve.

I've felt the same way, and I've been in this same "gig" for about 13 years now. I've barely been able to keep my head above water so far, but now things are really bad. At the beginning of this month, I actually smiled because I finally reached the $200 mark on my savings. I'm not a big spender; I didn't fly off to Vegas or gamble or spend it all on cigs or anything (not a smoker anyway.) Now, I have just $35 in savings and not sure how I'm going to make it to the end of the month. That was also my Christmas money. There's no way I'm going to be able to make that up now so late in the year.

Absolutely no one cares about people on SSI, the disabled or anything. Just a bunch of rich dogs trying to rule this godforsaken country and take everything away from those of us just trying to live day to day, week to week.

I understand you.

I get 365 euros -408 dollars- because i am disable
and i can't work

I cannot rent a flat only for me, I have to share it with 2 more people. It costs me 250 euros -my room-, I have -only- 115 euros -128 dollars- to buy food and everything I need.

people in my country are given few money because It's supposed you are living with a family member so you don't have to pay any rent. I don't have family at all... so what can i do? Nothing.

Social services have been very inadequate to address my needs over the years as well, which led to homelessness with dire physical consequences to my body. My heart goes out to all those impacted by the inadequacies and insufficiencies of those social services, and I hope both that they can be rendered adequate and sufficient to address people's needs, and that your needs specifically are addressed posthaste.