Courage & A Little Help

By Kathie Bach, Benefits Specialist
Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow

This article is about courage and how, with a little help and a lot of courage, people can reach their goals. The dictionary defines courage as "the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or fear with self-possession, confidence, and resolution: bravery." Those of us who work with people with disabilities see courage in action every day, and when you see it, it truly is gratifying. To watch the courage it takes for a person with a disability to take the first tiny steps toward achieving a goal, then reach that goal, is a wonderful thing. But sometimes they might need a little help.

I have in mind a consumer who needed transportation to and from school. For those of us who live in RURAL Montana, this isn't difficult to understand. For those who don't, let me just say that there is no public transportation in most small towns and few services between towns. After taking several seminars through the Montana Rural Employment Initiative (MREI) project from the Rural Institute Training Department in 1998, the staff at Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) Living Center understood how Social Security Work Incentives could help this consumer. We assured her that a Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS) could be used to pay for her transportation to and from school.

When she started working on her PASS plan, she was afraid she might lose her Social Security benefits, but she wanted to go to school. She had to find the courage to move forward. We provided the little help in understanding the PASS writing process. When she was confused about the whole process and tired of the paperwork and what seemed to be the general runaround from the other people/organizations involved in her life, we used our skills learned in MREI training to help her negotiate the Social Security maze. Her PASS plan was approved and paid for a vehicle, insurance, license, and upkeep.

She started school. Did she like it? Yes, at first everything was going well. Of course, no story would be complete without snags. This consumer doesn't handle stress very well, and when it came time for her PASS review, she was frightened. Before the review was completed, she was in tears and wanted the whole PASS, school, and her life to just go away. We stepped in to help again. LIFTT had received a second year of the training through the MREI project and this proved to be invaluable. Because of this additional training, we could work with her and the Social Security case worker at the PASS Cadre and things went much better. Once again, she found the courage to continue and we were able to offer a little help.

Well to make a long story short, this consumer is now in her third year of college. She has her transportation and has moved to a university town to complete her education. Her PASS plan will help her through college, and through the transition period of finding a job. When you realize that this consumer is over 50 years old, you can see how it really took courage for her to reach for her goal.