When you are disabled, sometimes you struggle to pay for medical necessities because being disabled is more expensive, and it’s not as easy to get a well-paying job, so you may need assistance from the government. Non-disabled people are always making it harder for disabled people to get services because they are lazy and try to find ways to cheat the system, so people with legitimate disabilities do not get services. I get checks from the government for being disabled, and sometimes non-disabled people will say, “I wish I got free money from the government” because they have this false idea of what it means to be on government assistance and think that the government makes me loaded. I am grateful that I receive government assistance because if I didn’t, I would have huge medical bills that I couldn’t pay. However, government assistance is not what it’s cracked up to be. Some people wish they could be on government assistance because they don’t want to work, while I wish I could be off of it. There are so many rules that often feel unfair and make me feel like I am being punished for a disability that I cannot control. What is it like to be on government assistance? In this post, I am sharing what it is really like to get support from the government.
I am constantly worrying about money- When you get money from the government, sometimes people think that they will provide you with enough money to survive off of, but the reality is you can’t comfortably live off SSI (social security income) because the government does not give disabled people a livable income. I get under one thousand dollars a month from the government, which is the reason I still live with my parents, because that isn’t even enough for an apartment, and I still haven’t gotten groceries yet. I started my blog with the hopes of making more money, but because I get money from the government, I have to be careful with how much money I make from my blog, because I can’t make too much. I can’t charge a brand hundreds of dollars to do sponsored content, even if my blog is worth that, because if I make what the government thinks is too much, I could lose benefits, and once you lose them, it’s difficult to get them back. I struggle to pay for things sometimes and am constantly stressed about money, but I am unable to start a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses because that would count as income, and the government tells me how much money I am allowed to make before my benefits are cut, which isn’t a lot. Disabled people who get help from the government often struggle to make ends meet, even with a job, because they aren’t allowed to save money, and their income is cut once they have a job. If you receive SSI after you have retired, it’s different, and depending on how long you’ve worked, you may get more money than a disabled person who has never worked would.
You are constantly having to prove your disability– It is a lengthy process to get assistance from the government because they have to believe you are disabled enough to get benefits, and it can take some people years to get accepted. When you finally get SSI, every couple of years, they send you forms that you have to fill out to make sure you are still disabled. Sometimes, it’s a short form, but other times, they send you a longer one, and you basically have to provide them with your entire medical history. It is a nerve-racking process because you are never guaranteed that your benefits are going to be renewed, and the government can always decide you aren’t disabled enough to get benefits.
There are a lot of rules– If non-disabled people truly understood how many rules you have to follow to continue to get government assistance, I think that less people would try to cheat the system and get on it. There are so many rules that you have to follow when you get Medicaid, and some of them make sense, but most of them feel like punishments for being disabled. You are restricted to how much money you can make, and they even have rules on marriage, which is why I am not trying too hard to get in a relationship, because if I were to get married, I risk losing my benefits. It is important to have restrictions because you don’t want to make it too easy for a non-disabled person to get disability benefits, but some of the rules are frustrating and unfair.
Sometimes I don’t try as hard to be successful- I started my blog to spread awareness and make money, and I do spend a lot of time making content. I don’t try as hard to make a lot of money as someone without my disability would because sometimes, I don’t feel like it’s worth the risk. I am not allowed to charge brands what I am worth because I’d be making too much, and sometimes I don’t feel like it’s worth the effort, when I am only allowed to make half of what I earn.
Many disabled people need government assistance because a lot of us live in poverty and can’t afford to pay for life-saving medical supplies. There are a lot of rules that come with getting disability benefits, and sometimes I don’t know why we call it benefits because most of the time it doesn’t feel that way. I would get off of disability benefits in a heartbeat if I could, but because I have so many health issues, I don’t think that will ever be a reality for me. I am fortunate that I am able to get disability benefits because I have a physical disability, but not all disabled people are able to get services. People with invisible disabilities often have a harder time getting services, and sometimes get denied because they don’t think you are disabled enough. Government assistance is needed, but it’s not what it’s cracked up to be, and you will make more money at your well-paying job in two weeks than I will make in a month. What is your experience with being on government assistance? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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