Under 30 years old:

(Many things listed here are true of other groups also)

• He may have finished high school before getting sick but was too young to have had a career established. If he worked at all the wages were small and the amount paid into social security will not be enough to live on, that is IF he can even get social security disability. They do not always approve every claim, as a matter of fact it typically takes three tries which takes a year or so plus a big medic al file (meaning many doctor's visits and tests) AND a good lawyer. Rarely ever does anyone get approved the first time. IF he gets approved he has typically gone a full year already with no income. SS does pay retroactive to the application date but the person had to live without anything during that year... meaning they'd better have had a good savings account or rich parents or friends....
  
  
• If he got ill before acquiring the most basic household furnishes he will not be able to afford to buy them now. This also holds true for a car even though he may not be able to walk or ride a bus. (See point below on what happens if he tries to get them by gift or temporary job)
  
  
• He either is forced to move back home or apply for some kind of assistance. This means SSI or welfare. Welfare does not like to give assistance to young people that they view as 'able bodied', and these illnesses are not visible from the outside. This is especially true for young males, in many states they can not get any assistance. SSI, IF obtainable is based on the total family income and is quite low in most cases. So though a family may not be able to support their grown child they still won't be able to get assistance. This is also true for medical assistance. Adult children typically are NOT on their parent's insurance policies.
  
  
• If he does get assistance any other money he gets from any source including gifts and one type jobs will be subtracted from his allotment and the amounts allowed are generally low... meaning if he tries to help himself a bit by attempting to work here and there temporary /part time he most likely will loose whatever assistance he got.

Many of the things mentioned in the category above apply here too. While it is sometimes easier for a mother with small children to get assistance (once it's acknowledged that she really is disabled which can be a problem with these kinds of illnesses) the amounts given are very often too little to pay for basic laving needs let alone any extras that may have helped her improve her own health. The main difference is that agencies that lend assistance are often more sympathetic towards young children. Please keep in mind though that NO ONE wants to be on welfare or other types of assistance. Very often the process of getting help is very degrading and upsetting itself.

• Example of SSI for a single mother of one child in the state of Arizona. (1999) : The totally family monthly funds must be under $1000. Child support, gifts and any other income is subtracted from this number. BUT the remainder is NOT the amount the mom may actually get. The most that SSI will give is $450 regardless if there is no other income. Hint: You can not find a place to rent for $450 in Arizona. But at least she may have some medical. This medical allows her to go to a doctor who is on her particular plan. If the doctor she needs to see is a specialist who doesn't take that plan she may be out of luck.
  
  
• Welfare assistance is no better and as well carries a stigma. Now that she needs assistance she's in the system. She may be required to go through parenting classes or any other kind of scrutiny the worker may choose. It seems to be assumed that if you are poor you are also stupid and often a neglectful parent. She will be lumped in with those who are drug addicts and alcoholics as far as anyone is concerned if they discover she is on welfare. If her children are put in WIC or other programs she may be forced to feed them iron fortified formulas, be vaccinated and other things that may be against her better judgment.... but then she's only a poor mom who needs to be told right?
  
  
• If she's a single mom there is often an ex-husband involved. Too often ex-husbands do not understand these kind of illnesses and like to make issues out of them in court. They also use them in fights about child support amounts too. (Note: this also holds true for single fathers who are ill). Some even have had custody battles that were solely based on their illness as if being ill makes her a bad mother. If she was still married when she got ill chances are unless she had cash reserves or parents able to supply a good lawyer she probably did not have the energy nor finances to insure that she got enough child seaport let alone that nasty word unheard of today "alimony".
  

This group is a very sad case as far as I'm concerned. They worked hard most of their adult lives making a good home for their husband and children. They cooked and cleaned, were involved at school and after school activities with their children as well as their church. They're typically givers who saw being a homemaking a high calling. They very typically are older women who opted out of the feminist movement. Many had jobs when they were young but they came secondary to family and were part-time /temporary and low paying. They did not amount to much funds in their Social Security account. (What account?). They may have medical coverage through their husbands and they may have husband's whose earnings are high enough not to notice the difference with needing to hire some household help to replace what "mom" did all those years. So she may be in a better place than the two groups mentioned above..... unless she also happens to be a SINGLE older woman. I have met way too many women whose husband's bailed out on them when they got ill. These women end up in one of the worst predicament Today its very rare for a court to grant alimony ("spousal maintenance") and when they do its usually for a very limited length of time. If her husband does not continue to pay for her medical coverage she may not be able to afford any at all. (American system -- most medical coverage here is about the American Medical System ---or should I say lack of one?). IF this women was married more than twenty years she could one day collect Social Security from her ex's benefits -----unless she remarries.

The reason this group bothers me so much is because this woman is one who gave so much and we in society today refuse to acknowledge any of it at least in terms of support.

If you read the sections above you have a little bit better idea what these people are up against. In this section I have not talked about the emotional aspects involved in needing to be on assistance, having to depend on someone else for your support, those things are mentioned in the Emotional Aspects section of this site though it is truly difficult to go deeply into this side of it over the net. But they are big issues and ones that each and every person who has a chronic debilitating illness goes through. I really haven't begun to scratch the surface about financial matters either but perhaps this at least gave you a starting place to ponder further. Perhaps you will even check out the What Churches Can Do page to see what your church could do, and the What You Can Do page to see what you yourself could do personally. Before you leave this page though I'd like to give you a little more to think on. Here is a partial list of what many people who have MCS, CFS, FM also run into....

• The very things that may benefit their condition may be unaffordable and NOT covered by any type of insurance or assistance. Things like...
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  1. a good mattress
  2. special dietary needs - food allergies and sensitivities, sugar free etc.
  3. salves, ointments, OTC medications, elastic wraps, heating pads etc.
  4. supplements - vitamins, minerals, herbs etc.
  5. physical therapy, chiropractic, water therapies
  6. additional child care help
  7. housekeeping help
  8. shopping help
  9. cotton clothing - for those with sensitivities, clothing that is easy to put on and doesn't hit trigger points including good shoes
  10. toxic free cleaners and household supplies - often which cost a bit more than 'normal' types
  11. special heating or air cleaners - purifiers
  12. water purifiers
  13. comfortable chair - sometimes a wheelchair for shopping excursions and bad days
  • "sanity savers" - yes, entertainment and things to keep the mind occupied are necessary too! Things like computers and online connections, books (for those who can tolerate them), music, movies, TV, long distance calls to friends and family, safe excursions from the house, crafts, hobbies or whatever..... but they all cost a bit and while no one would admit they have the attitude most people do not believe that anyone who can not work deserves such 'luxuries".... unless they got it as a gift.....
    
    There is much more too numerous to mention and too elusive for my tired brain to recall right now. Perhaps I'll add some more later as I'm likely to have overlooked the obvious.
    
    

• They probably have someone else in their life that they've put first, a child, a hard working spouse who is supporting them.... they put themselves last tending to go without many of the little things that may help some symptoms simply because they do not want to be totally "self" centered. Most likely they would not tell you that they NEED these things but would tend to classify them as DESIRES. Yet the worries about budget, monthly shortages, and yes, sometimes even wondering where the groceries will come from by the end of the month often has taken a toll on their already precarious state of health and more than anything else that could help them a little less financial worry would be a big one. Bottom line? They won't ask. Many times they won't even let you know....