Forums or Support Groups for SSDI/SSI applicants?

My councilor who works with a lot of disabled people said that last year she attended about one appeal hearing a month. This year it is 6 or 7 a month and the last one a woman, deaf since birth, recently went blind with a sever heart condition and deterioration of her spine lost her appeal. Why was she denied in the first place. She worked and paid FICA until she could not.

It came up because my sister with three qualifying disabilities lost her appeal and the next one, paper arguments only, will take 1 to 5 years. She usually cannot leave her home, gets $200 a month plus food stamps to live on from the state (which she will have to pay back) and has to pay copays for her medical treatments, drugs.

Nobody can live on that without help from family or friends. Section 8 is closed, public housing is closed.

Acceptance seems to be so capriciously random at this point. How many people have already died because of this and how many more will die unless someone does something quickly. Once you are homeless you are dropped out of the appeal process.

A lot of people I know are so humiliated by this system that they have considered suicide. My sister wants to find some support, perhaps some others to join together to shed some light on this outrageous situation.

Mainly Lawyers, SSA professionals, not always sympathetic but very knowledgeable of the rules and regs
http://ssaconnect.com/


Applicants - need to register to participate (moderated board)
http://groups.msn.com/SocialSecurityDisabilityCoalition/general.msnw

Applicants
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=61

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