Are you interested in working toward your own personal Independence Day through the Ticket to Work Program?

You can get started by a visit to your local Social Security Administration office or by calling 1.800.772.1213, and requesting publication number 05-10061, "The Ticket To Work And Self-Sufficiency Program," or by visiting www.ssa.gov/work.

i'm not familiar with this program but i tried to go to college when i was 24 and when ssdi found out they cut off my check because they said that if i can go to college then i wasn't disabled and could get a job. so i did for awhile until i couldn't hold up any longer and had to get back on ssdi. but i also had quit college. the only good thing that came out of that was that i had insurance and that is when they found out that i had diabetes.

Does anyone in the group have an actual "Ticket"? The card is slightly larger than a 3" x 5" card, with the Social Security Administration logo on it. Some disabled persons have Tickets valued at over $20,000 for expenses related to education (tuition, books, etc), job training (on-the-job-training, sheltered workshops, assisted employment, etc), and other needs designed to move a disability income recipient to financial independence.

Would anyone like to add to this discussion?

Dont get me started on the TTW program. I had no business going to DVR & turning in my ticket. All it accomplished was provoking a premature full blown medical review.
I was feeling a little better last winter & decided to look into the possibilty of working, I guess I had a bad case of cabin fever. It was wishful thinking & a hairbrained idea. Later in the year I was feeling worse, nerves & paranoia hit me like a freight train & continues to do so to this day.
Now I have a med review to deal with, they werent even going to fool with me to begin with, I'm rated as medically not expected to improve.
I have a retired friend who was an analyst with the SSA, he had told me the Ticket To Work program was a means to an end to get benefit recipients off the rolls to reduce disabilty expenditures.
It sounds like a good program for some depending on the need, but is completely unrealistic for my situation.

Jeanne36Roses and MishaC, you are absolutely right - the Social Security Administration behaves like an 800-pound gorilla when it comes to the disabled. But then, they are government employees, and they've 'got theirs' - their secure jobs from which they can't be fired, their special retirement package (they have a better plan than Social Security Retirement at their disposal), their benefits package, their perks and privileges,...I recommend that people with disabilities go to the Social Security Adminstration for any reason only as a last resort - and only if you are accompanied by a family member, lawyer, social worker, or other personal advocate, because if you go to them by yourself, they will find a way to mistreat you - because they have the power to do so. Sad to say, but they all have a little Adolf Hitler in them. And be sure that you make photocopies of all forms and correspondence with them before you mail it, and keep the photocopies someplace safe.

Don't, however, let anything stop you from working toward your dreams. If you want a job, a house of your own, a business of your own, or anything else that you want and have a right to work toward, go for it. Make plans. Gather information. Look around at what life has to offer others, and know that it's for you, too. Don't let anyone or anything stand in your way.

We're assempbling a good list of resources here in this group. And eventually, I hope to find ideas for persons with disabilities to pool their resources and know-how and energy to run joint-ventures. What if there were a website on which disabled entrepreneurs could advertise their goods and services, a sort of internet shopping mall, to which individuals, nonprofits, and even government contractors could be directed to fulfull their contractual obligation to hire the disabled? And what if you had a page on that website? Would you offer pet sitting, telephone answering service, resume preparation, housepainting, elder care, hand puppets,...there's something you are capable of, no matter what your disability or personal circumstances. We've got to think outside of the box to come up with ideas. I don't know how to create websites, but maybe someone else in the group does, or knows someone who would be willing to lend a few hours of their time. I've never made a hand puppet before, but I can sew a button on, and if I had a sewing maching, I'm sure I could learn.

And back to our topic, Ticket To Work. I still think the program may hold some promise of a brighter future for those who are positioned to take advantage of the program. Not all of us will be able to use it, but I would like to hear from those who can, so that others who may have a Ticket can benefit from the knowledge of their experiences.

I have a ticket but I knew i wasn't in anyway ready to use it, I have stored it in my filing cabinet. Don't know if I'll ever use it. It kind of scares me. Anxiety gets really high. so time will tell.

That's understandable, Julietangel. There are a lot of concerns anyone should have, such as what if I get a job through the Ticket program or PASS, and then lose my Social Security Benefits because I become financially self-supporting - and then I lose the job because I got fired or the company went out of business in this economy. There I would be, without benefits and without a job, and still having a disability that hampers my chances of finding other work. Maybe I just should have put that Ticket away someplace, continue to receive benefits as I do now, and not risk any of this happening to me.

Or what if I get a job and my employer doesn't offer health benefits, or the benefits do not fully cover my condition, or what if my condition worsens or relapses?

Does anyone else have concerns like these, or other concerns?