Posted by KaraS on July 25, 2005, at 18:30:46 [reposted on July 25, 2005, at 23:29:53 | original URL]
In reply to Re: Raving SSI and other Ravens:-) » KaraS, posted by barbaracat on July 25, 2005, at 16:50:54
Thanks so much! That's all very reassuring.
I have a way to cover my last few years on a resume as if I have been working so if they were to discover even the fact that I was on SSI, then I would definitely not get the job. I think it's a risk worth taking though considering how hard it would be for them to find out about SSI to begin with. I wonder if GR would be as difficult to find out about.
Hopefully my latest trials will end up getting me back on my feet again and the whole thing will be a nonissue. I definitely should have looked into this long ago however.Your house with all of your pets sounds wonderful. My cats are my biggest joy too. Where I used to live there were racoons and I noticed how well they mingled with the local cats. The two species seem to get along well for some reason.
Anway, thanks again for your advice. I hope you continue to be well and that you find your perfect combination of Lithium and Cymbalta.
Hugs,
Kara
> Oh, poor you, having to go through this - someone who definitely deserves aid but is allowing these paranoid times make life even more difficult.
>
> I imagine an employer could dig out the fact that you were on SSI but the info is definitely not easy to get at, even for yourself. Just try to order a transcript of your SSI history for your own records and realize the hassle you have to go through. Plus, it takes quite a few weeks to receive the report and once it's received, the only information on there is how much you made that year and contributed to SSI.
>
> Employers these days are very busy people and their HR deparments are busy enough tracking down (in descending order of frequency) references & past employment history, education & licenses, drug test results, criminal background checks, in other words relevant employment history.
>
> I've gotten a number of documents verifying that I'm on SSI and there is no mention at all the reason why. When I called the main office, all they had was the basic info, dates, amounts. No reasons. So if it ever comes to light you could conceivably say anything you want. A friend of mine says she contracted nerve damage through an allergy to a pesticide. Another said she had terrible migraines. I say fibromyalgia. Of course, all of us are bipolar, but no future employer is ever going to get wind of that.
>
> Your medical records, government and financial info are not handed to them on a silver platter just because you're applying for a job. Even though you have to hand over your SSI number, they have to go through alot of governmental beaurocracy to get the info - even if they knew where your records were located. Most HR protocol does the minimum in background checks because it's time consuming and expensive.
>
> Only if an employee starts acting suspicious will they go through the considerable effort to dig deeper.
>
> I think it's very appropriate to be concerned with how our privacy is being erroded in general, but I wouldn't let this particular issue stop you from getting the aid that you not only deserve, but you also paid for. - BarbaraCat
>
> p.s. My cats are the delight of my and my husband's hearts. They bring such joy and humor into our lives - and dirt into our house! Disability sure doesn't pay for their vet bills, but they're pretty considerate and stay healthy.
>
> The only time it was intense was a few years ago when my Mom suddenly died, our oldest cat was dying, an abandoned cat showed up at the house, it was winter, and all of us, cats and humans, were all going absolutely wildly bonkers - yowling, hissing, wailing non-stop. It was wild, but mainly it's pretty mellow, even with 10. And lately a Mom raccoon and 4 little babies have joined the herd. They're hanging out on the porch at this moment - with 2 of the cats hanging out with them.
>
>
> > >>My main disability was fibromyalgia with secondary bipolar disorder. It was the bipolar that clinched it for me. I was concerned that my records might get out and make reemployment difficult ('she's a nutcase!') but the details are not in the public record.
> >
> >
> > Hi barbaracat,
> >
> > Do you mind if I ask you more about the records of SSI. If I were to look for work and I had been on SSI, could a potential employer easily find that out? I understand from what you're saying above that they couldn't find out the details of a person's condition, but could they find out that I had been on SSI at all?
> >
> > The fear of that information being available is one of the things that has kept me from applying (aside from having so little motivation in general and aside from not wanting to entertain the notion that I won't be well and able to work soon). Yet I haven't worked for almost 3 years now. I've even been afraid to apply for the short-term general relief for fear that a future potential employer might be able to find that out and make things even harder for me to return to the work world.
> >
> > (Please forgive me if any of these questions are redundant as I haven't read the entire thread.)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Kara
> >
> > P.S. 10 cats? Wow! I have two and between their medical bills and their chewing up my electrical cords, they really take require a lot of money (of course they're worth every penny of it).
poster:KaraS
thread:533556
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050719/msgs/533557.html