When I was an Eligibility Worker Daniel, back in the late 90's early 2000's drug addicts were able to get SSI, on the grounds their addiction was a mental health disease (which it was) therefor these poor souls (mostly men and many veterans from Vietnam and Desert Storm) were able to get a minimum (I think it was around $619 back then. W…
When I was an Eligibility Worker Daniel, back in the late 90's early 2000's drug addicts were able to get SSI, on the grounds their addiction was a mental health disease (which it was) therefor these poor souls (mostly men and many veterans from Vietnam and Desert Storm) were able to get a minimum (I think it was around $619 back then. We usually got a conservator to handle the money and see it went for housing and food. The problem at that time was Social Security who ran the program although it didn't fund it, denied all disability on the first application. Since these men were incapable4 of representing themselves we had some attorneys who for a small flat rate taken from the lump sum would get the necessary paperwork and file the appeal for them, The client would get the check before the conservator could get it from them and many of them overdosed and killed themselves. We still treat the mentally ill in the same poor fashion today.
When I was an Eligibility Worker Daniel, back in the late 90's early 2000's drug addicts were able to get SSI, on the grounds their addiction was a mental health disease (which it was) therefor these poor souls (mostly men and many veterans from Vietnam and Desert Storm) were able to get a minimum (I think it was around $619 back then. We usually got a conservator to handle the money and see it went for housing and food. The problem at that time was Social Security who ran the program although it didn't fund it, denied all disability on the first application. Since these men were incapable4 of representing themselves we had some attorneys who for a small flat rate taken from the lump sum would get the necessary paperwork and file the appeal for them, The client would get the check before the conservator could get it from them and many of them overdosed and killed themselves. We still treat the mentally ill in the same poor fashion today.