One day I received a phone call from Latifah John’s family. She was very upset and was threatening to sue me because she lost her appeal at the administrative hearing regarding her disability benefit, which had been cut off. I asked her permission to meet with her and explain. During the meeting, she explained to me how, during the court contested hearing, they went through all the medical records one of my companies provided to her lawyer (who requested it with proper consent). After listening to arguments from her lawyer and government lawyer, the judge determined that the evidence showed that her daughter had been rehabilitated with significant progress, and though there were still some issues she was working on, those issues were no longer causing impairment and disability to her normal functions to the point of continued dependence on public assistance. The judge noted that she had recovered significantly and acquired the ability to cope with all issues remaining, and if she continued with treatment and rehabilitation, she would be healed. This parent wanted to discharge her child from the program, blaming the agency for taking away her living income. After she finished, I asked her one question in front of her daughter. “Would you prefer your daughter be healed and rehabilitated and live her normal life, go back to finish school and get a job to support you, or would you prefer her to continue to be sick all her life so that you will continue to receive a disability check?” She said, “I prefer her to be well, but how will I support her? I have no help . . .” I said to her, “If you allow us to finish what we are trained to do, she will be fine and you will be fine, too. We cannot not keep her sick or falsify medical records so that you continue to receive a disability check.” She decided to keep her daughter in the program. Her daughter (Keona) went back to school and got her GED. I constantly reminded her what she told me when she joined the program; she wanted to be a nurse. She is currently studying nursing and is at the same time working. I cannot forget the excitement in the family the day she received her first check. The family invited me over to tell me the good news. Now her younger brother has made up his mind to go to college. Her best friend, whom I’d had trouble getting to go back to school, is now studying for her GED and working in the same place Keona works. That family, if supported and properly guided, will break out of poverty in ten years. Subsequent generations will continue to break the cycle of generations of welfare dependence. Their self-esteem skyrocketed and their social capital increased tremendously. Her success infected her friend and will also impact her friend’s family. They currently hope to achieve the American Dream.
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:48:37 +0000
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