Living on Disability

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I'd like suggestions of what others of you have done in my situation. I get

SSDI which amounts to $895 a month. Then, $280 is taken off the top while I

ccontinue to pay off a debt consolidation from sometime ago. That will be

finished in 6-7 months. But even with that extra $280 there's no way I can live

on this amoount of income. I moved to the Washington area for various reasons

three years ago. When I first arrived I was very weak and couldn't do much of

anything until about four months in. Then I just went to the Yellow pages and

found a temp agency close by and immediately got a temp job at an AIDS clinic

that lasted 9 months. They had some fundraising problems and so that job ended.

However until about four months ago I was able to work enough (but not too much)

in order to have enough to live frugally and not endanger my disability. A

cousin pays my rent. But now I'm in my second month of not being able to find a

part-time temp job while I continue my quest for a full-time permanent position

that would actually support me and pay my rent. I have a good resume but have

not been in the job market since I left California in 2001. The college gradsw

have flooded into town and besides making it a terrible place to live they're

taking all the jobs.

I met with my disability counselor yesterday and will meet with two others to

see if we can come up with something or retrain for something entirely different

just to survive.

Is anyone else in this position? What are you doing? I applied for retirement

housing yesterday but the waiting list is 18 months. It's a very nice place

about 10 miles west of here.I won't be eligible for retirement until Januiary

(retirement from what?!) and because of the way I lived my life including places

that didn't collect social security, I will only be collecting pennies. This

problem is so severe that I'm frightened beyond measure.

Thanks for any constructive thoughts no matter how silly they may sound to you.

L