Usually being disabled means that you are also poor. Duh. Originally, I wanted to sub-title this article, “Living Poor and Disabled in a F*cked Up World”… but didn’t. It’s still a relevant statement.
Case in point, is the following article that I came across, of a young woman who is disabled and requires personal care, among other supports and services. She is being forced to remain poor (having no choice) so that she can receive the necessary services and supports through Medicaid that she must have in order to receive personal care, mobility, an education, keep her home maintained and to travel for work. You know…. live a normal life like everyone else.
If she makes a little bit too much money, she will lose her Medicaid — so she can’t move ahead in her life. It’s a Catch-22 and it’s a huge obstruction in the life of someone who wants a better life. Shouldn’t we want a better life for each other?
Yet that “choice” (which probably should be called a nonchoice) does not allow her to live the full and purposeful life that she could and should be living — the kind of life she desires to choose for herself. She is being denied a self-determined life, which is a human right.
Many, many people with disabilities have to live “non-lives” for many reasons. It could be lack of funding (a common excuse that I hear about way too much when it comes to community mental health or health and human services, etc.). Oh-oh-oh, here’s another one — “We don’t have a program that covers that”.
Some people are denied medical benefits outright, as in if you’re a few dollars “over-income” — or some disabled people have to end up paying a high deductible or co-pay. This is a problem when their income isn’t actually steady.
There are just so many ways to hurt people and keep them down.
A lot of people receive less in the way of supports and services than what they need to have a good quality of life — let alone maybe…. just maybe make the world a better place, if they were truly supported.
Let’s add to this list.
There is a lack of qualified personal care assistants “out there”. Staff shortages are rampant. Sometimes when there are benefits (covered by Medicaid), people can’t find staff to fill all of those needed hours. Direct care workers receive little if any respect when they work for companies or agencies, who are “just in this for the money”. Most of these care assistants are working more than 12 hours shifts, and that’s not good or safe for anyone. These positions are among the lowest-paying and that’s a fact. The companies and agencies that hire them, do NOT pass down their profits to their direct care workers, so don’t be fooled by that.
Then there are those disabled people and their families who are mired in bureaucracy and red tape (up to their necks), with no advocates to help them, and sometimes people give up. There are those who can’t meet overwhelmingly strict requirements to get benefits and they don’t know where to turn. They may not have access to transportation either. And what if your job is on the weekends, but there isn’t any accessible public transportation on the weekends?
There is constant ignorance and systemic breakdowns… You name it and there’s a roadblock or some gatekeeper, meglomaniac, couldn’t-give-a-shit, apathetic piece of crap person at the other end.
God, I have so many descriptive words I’d like to insert here …. you have no idea.
This is an article by S.I. Rosenbaum, entitled, “Locked into Poverty — Impossible Choices Forced on the Disabled” — Presented by Microsoft News in partnership with Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.
This is Anna Landre’s story. Please click on the link above.
I encourage you to read this because it’s very much real-life for people with disabilities, especially those who are dependent upon others and our society to not just survive, but to thrive. Purposeful, Meaningful, Striving and Thriving — without conditions is key.
Will the world ever evolve?
And then there’s Jason DaSilva from New York City… His life story up to this point (and I’m sure beyond) has been very telling about what it’s like to make difficult and often unbearable, heartbreaking choices.
In 2006, 25-year-old Jason DaSilva was on vacation at the beach with family when, suddenly, he fell down. He couldn’t get back up. His legs had stopped working; his disease could no longer be ignored. Just a few months earlier doctors had told him that he had multiple sclerosis, which could lead to loss of vision and muscle control, as well as a myriad of other complications. Jason tried exercise to help cope, but the problem only worsened. After his dispiriting fall on the beach, he turned to his Mom, who reminded him that, despite his disease, he was still a fortunate kid who had the opportunity to pursue the things he loved most: art and filmmaking. Jason picked up the camera, turned it on his declining body, and set out on a worldwide journey in search of healing, self-discovery, and love.
At one time, I had the entire documentary (“When We Walk”) and posted it on my Facebook page. If you have the opportunity to follow him on Facebook or You Tube you should!
We learn from Jason, the disparity that exists between cities, counties and states in the United States that shouldn’t exist when it comes to supports and services for those who have disabilities, but it does. He tried to live near his son in Texas, when his son and his mom moved there, but the system in Texas didn’t support Jason to be able to do this. He lost his independence and he would have lost his personal essence; that part of the human spirit that makes us who we are as human beings, each and every one of us if he would have stayed. He was forced to return to New York City. That’s sad.
There are thousands upon thousands of life stories out there in the world of babies, children, adults who have one or multiple disabilities with varying degrees of severity. Every ONE is precious and their lives have meaning and purpose. I often have told my grandchildren that they are each unique in all the world. To me, that is beautiful and amazing!
Be kind but more, be involved and supportive. Stand up and do what’s right. I shouldn’t even have to write this. There are things in this life that should “just be” without question.
I will continue to believe that, “Where there is life, there’s HOPE“.