Years ago I did a home visit for a middle school student who cared for her grandmother. When I arrived, she was also caring for her cousin who was 2 years old. Her cousin was missing his hands and feet. At some point, the mother arrived and shared the story of how her son lost his limbs. She shared he was sick, and she went to several er’s and was turned away and accused of abusing her son as his limbs were black and blue. Eventually her son was received at a hospital, and was eventually diagnosed treated for an infection, eventually resulting in the loss of limbs. I always wondered if this mother was taken seriously at the 1st hospital, and her son received the appropriate treatment in a timely manor, would he still have his hands and feet. This experience demonstrated to me people may have a difference experience when seeking medical care based on unconscious biases people have.
Concern: Families having enough food
Challenges of SSI Disability Benefits
For those individuals seeking SSI-Disability Benefits, individuals who can afford to hire an attorney to advocate and complete forms, and work within the system are two times more likely to be approved for benefits on the first “go around” that those who don’t and definitely increase the approval rating when reapplying after initial denial. However, those who are really in need of guidance, often have lower incomes (if any) and cannot afford or have the ability or access to easily obtain legal counsel. Once approved for benefits, the waiting period for health care access and services through Medicare does not begin until 2 years after approval — a time when many need it most. “People who will become eligible for SSDI benefits are significantly more likely to be uninsured than other workers—an average of 22 percent over the three years prior to SSDI entry, compared with 16 percent in the general population” with the likelihood “living in a family whose income is below the federal poverty level being twice as high among people receiving SSDI benefits as among those who have not yet become disabled” The cost of coverage through COBRA is “cost-prohibitive” for many of these individuals.
Many individuals and families absolutely give up even trying to obtain these benefits even though they are entitled to receive the funds and critical health care services.
Inequality of Opportunity in a Prison
Last spring, prior to the pandemic, I volunteered as a teaching assistant at a prison that offered some inmates the opportunity to receive an associate degree. In order to be eligible, there were requirements such as not having had an incident in the past 6 months. Despite the majority of prisoners being Black, my class only had 3 Black students of 13 students total. This represents inequity because in a prison where less than 25% of prisoners are white, white prisoners represented over 75% of this class, a class which was designed to create more opportunities for them upon release.