Unfortunately I see this a lot with my clients who have excellent work records who suddenly have to file for Social Security disability benefits. They’re often so ashamed that they have to file for what they think of as “charity.” Same is true if they file for food stamps. The SNAP/Food Stamps program was really set up to help people through a rough time – which is exactly what this man and my clients experience.
Years ago I was representing a man who had an excellent work record doing a heavy job. In the past he’d had one or two back surgeries, but had returned to his job where he had to lift between 50 – 100 lbs. He had been out of work again; had a 3rd back surgery; and was just not able to return to work. At the hearing he happened to tell the judge how embarrassed he was that he had to file for Social Security disability benefits. The judge pretty sternly told my client that it was NOT charity – it was something he had worked hard for over the years which was paid for from the FICA taxes taken out of his paycheck. It was something he had EARNED! I tell this to my clients as well, although it still seems hard for them to accept.
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When you live in the land of opportunity and yours passes you by, a life that began with lofty dreams and unlimited potential can result in devastating humiliation.
I know because it happened to me.
Not long ago, my sister received a call from an old classmate of mine who had been looking for me. She gave him my number and gave me his. When he called, I didn’t pick up. As I told my sister later, I was too ashamed and embarrassed to take the call. My life has not turned out particularly well and I had no desire to compare notes.
Total recovery from the ischemic stroke that struck me last November is doubtful. As is common, the impairments that remain are not obvious but to the most observant and those who know me well. I worked 20 years at Exxon as a process operator, and after that, I helped run my family business, managed a retirement community, and worked most recently as a security guard. But now, it’s hard to work. I can’t drive and public transportation is unavailable in Channelview, Tex. For another, some of the brain damage is irreparable and affected needed reflexes. I’ve been told I’m unresponsive to common stimuli. Of course, I haven’t noticed.
The floor in the house I’m renting is a constant companion with whom I am intimately familiar. Such is the consequence of looking down all the time. I only leave the house to walk down the road a mile or so for exercise. As a result, I am well acquainted with all of the cracks in the sidewalk. This is all new to me, but I have the constant fear that I will soon be well accustomed. At least, that’s the prognosis.
[Laziness isn’t why people are poor. And iPhones aren’t why they lack healthcare.]
From what I can tell, many who are disabled and on the dole feel the same way. There may be some folks receiving disability benefits fraudulently, but I do know I got a good going over. A few weeks after my stroke, when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to work, my wife drove me to the Social Security office to apply for benefits. After stacks of paperwork, it took several months before my first trip to the doctor, for a psychiatric exam, where they asked me to count to 100 by sevens. It should have been simple, but about halfway through, I stumbled, and felt humiliated. More questions passed, and more confusion. A very thorough physical exam came next. And then there was a very thorough check of our finances, including the number of cars and bank accounts we have. Months on, I still haven’t received a single check. Without help from family, I would be homeless, despite over forty years in the work force. To them, I am forever grateful, but also deeply ashamed.
In a world where we’re all expected to carry our own weight, I fully understand why my fellow taxpayers don’t want to carry mine. But what I don’t understand is that the lady who helped me with the paperwork at the Social Security office told me disability was not charity. What I am to get out is based on what I put in. She told me to stop crying because it is money I have earned. So why do I feel so much shame?
[Poor people do work. And work. And work.]
I was raised with the feeling that public services should be kept to an absolute minimum, and that people who received government assistance have no class, and should have taken better care of themselves. Three weeks after my stroke, my wife of 41 years lost her job, too. She was upset due to my prognosis, and spent so much of her time taking care of me (making sure, for example, that I could turn off the burners after cooking, and make it around the house on my own) that it was hard for her to make it to work. Without her job, we had to apply for food stamps. When we first received them, I was so humiliated I wouldn’t even go to the store with her. I was afraid and demoralized.
I would gladly work, just to hold my head up again. And I believe most folks like me would prefer a hand up to a handout. It’s just that a hand up is much harder to come by in circumstances like these. I didn’t grow up poor, and I didn’t intend to become poor: Somehow, it just happened. The poor are rarely in a position to defend themselves. I see that now, and I refuse to judge a panhandler these days. I just thank God I’m not in his shoes yet, if he has any.