Employment assistance for the disabled.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am asking this to enrich my own knowledge and to potentially help a good friend. It seems a bit survey-ish, so I hope this is the proper forum. My apologies if I am in error.

Anyway, I have a friend who lives in a fairly rural area. I live in a nearby suburban area. Soon, I will be moving to the city. This friend has severely impaired vision. He was essentially born blind, but through cornea transplants has gained the ability to see well enough to get around. He is considered legally blind, but he is not “legally disabled” (sorry if my terminology is off – he has applied twice for disability and been declined). From what I understand of his descriptions, one of his eyes does not work at all or barely functions (his cornea transplant was apparently botched to some extent), the absence of light causes him to be almost completely blind, his longer distance vision is awful, etc. He can make out colors fine.

From what he has told me, he has one more opportunity to apply for disability. Living where he does, he has no real prospects for employment without the ability to drive a car, which he obviously cannot do. I hang out with him frequently, help him run any errands he needs to run, etc. and it’s weighing on my conscience quite a bit that soon I will be a good hour or so away and largely incapable of helping him out, due to distance and business.

If any of you might be able to provide me with some insight into what options or assistance might be available to him, it would be much appreciated. I have told him that if he’d like to move to the city where there are jobs within walking distance, public transportation, etc. that he can crash at my new place until he can get himself the necessary funding to get a place of his own, but I don’t know how helpful I’m being…

2

Well, I’m no expert and I’m not sure which state you’re in, but I’ll bet he has options. Maybe he could use a vocational rehabilitation counselor. This link may help him out.

Being legally blind in a rural area doesn’t leave him with many options. He would have more opportunities and more independence in an area with public transportation, as you’ve mentioned. It’s nice of you to offer to help him out if he wanted to move. Is he willing to do so if necessary?

He could try getting into a training center. There are training centers for the blind that could help him find a job and help him work on any independent living or technology skills he may lack. Many have residential facilities, so if he needs to, he can become a resident of the center while training and figuring out his next step.

He could also look into getting trained to run a vending stand through the Randolph-Sheppard program. The blind/visually impaired get priority in running vending stands/snack bars on federal property, so that might be worth a try.

Just a few ideas. Best of luck to your friend.

3

I’m in Ohio, FWIW. Thanks for the response!

4

I suggest that your friend get a lawyer for his final disability hearing. From what I’ve seen, his chances will be much better with a lawyer.
It could well be worth it because if he’s declared legally disabled, he’ll get disability pay backpaid from the date he first applied.
I’ve known several people who were legally blind with some sight who were approved for disability benefits.

5

Many thanks for the advice laina. I’ve spoken with my friend and let him know that if he’d like to speak with a lawyer, I’d be glad to run him out.

It’s frustrating because he’s 21 years old, extremely bright, and painfully underestimates his own abilities because of the lack of mobility and confidence that have resulted from his inability to see.

6

The Job Accommodation Network is a good resource for this type of question.

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

7

FWIW, I’ve got a friend in similar circumstances – legally blind, lives in a rural-ish area, etc. She’s applied, and has been rejected twice for SSDI, the second time with a lawyer.

She doesn’t qualify for any kind of job program, etc., because she has a master’s degree.

Circumstances prevent her from moving to a more urban area.

Her frustration is indescribable. I really feel for the OP’s friend and the OP :frowning:

8

I work for an organization which provides exactly the type of services your friend and kiz’s friend are looking for. Email is in my profile if either or both of you wish to send me one. I’m in MA but will likely be able to provide you some direction to go in in your repsective states.

9

Email sent! :slight_smile:

10

Haven’t received it, and you don’t have email in your profile. Resend if you’d like!

11

National Industries for the Blind (www.nib.org) have workcenters around the country that specialize in finding work for people who have vision impairments. Some of their jobs pay quite well.

12

It seems like my emails either aren’t going out or coming in properly, so I’m posting the email I sent to porphyrogene and hope that it helps. kiz , you may find some of this applicable, but be sure to ask specific questions if you have them.

Here it is:
*Regarding applying for disability:
Yes, it is true that a lawyer who specializes in disability law is the best bet for your friend. However, caveat empotor—there are some lawyers who claim to be able to help people overturn SSA’s decision, etc, but in return, they ask for a chunk of the first payment. Most disability ends up being awarded retroactively, so someone might get a big check, with several months’ (or even years’) worth of payments, and these lawyers will take advantage of desperate people…and take a big chunk of this money. Good lawyers will do this pro bono.

There are legal centers set up by Social Security to provide what is called protection and advocacy for individuals with disabilities. This is defined on SSA’s webiste as : " Assist beneficiaries with disabilities in obtaining information and advice about receiving vocational rehabilitation and employment services. Provide advocacy or other related services that beneficiaries with disabilities may need to secure or regain gainful employment." Now, I realize that your friend hasn’t yet been awarded disability, but these folks may be able to help with that, as well as refer him to vocational services such as the organization I work for. Don’t be put off by the fact that they contract with SSA. They are not employed by SSA, and I have had tremendous luck referring clients to the P&A law firm in Massachusetts. As they say on the boards, YMMV and all that, but these folks eat, sleep and breathe Social Security law and can really be great advocates. The one listed on SSA’s website for Ohio is: Ohio Legal Rights Service. There is no contact information given, but I’m hoping you can do that on your end.

There are also organizations which do BPAO, which stands for Benefits Planning Outreach and Assistance. Again, these are not SSA employees (in fact, the BPAO specialist where I live is an employee of the same organization I work for; he just happens to work under a grant provided by SSA). These folks aren’t necessarily lawyers, but can help with the process and perhaps point you towards reputable lawyers. They also deal specifically with disability as it relates to employment, so they can be helpful in finding voc services as well. The ones for Ohio are listed here:http://www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/BPAODirectory.html#Ohio

Finally, I did find some listings for state-run services which your friend may or may not be tapped in to. The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Committee has a website here: http://www.rsc.ohio.gov/index.asp and they provided a link to services for the visually impaired here: http://www.rsc.ohio.gov/VR_Services/BSVI/bsvi.asp It’s a fairly impressive and comprehensive website, so looking around is a good idea, depending on how much time you have. I honestly don’t know how many services your friend will be eligible for w/out being on SSDI. That tends to vary from place to place—basically, it depends on which agencies have received federal grants to provide what services.

My suggested course of action is to start with the BSVI and the disbaility lawyers, but you really have to just see what the results are when you start making phone calls.

If there are more resources you need or questions you have, please don’t hesitate to ask me.
*

13

Being blind does not mean that a person cannot hold a job. Your friend certainly should not be on disability just because he is blind. Being blind will make it more difficult for a person to gain and hold a job, but it does not preclude it. If he can’t find a job where he is at (and he should certainly explore the local Vocational Rehabilitation services) then he should move to a city. There are plenty of blind folks in DC who lead quite productive lives (I work with them every day). Anyone who thinks he has to file for disability just because of blindness is seriously misguided. It sounds as if the government is telling him that by declining to give him such benefits.