Community Voices from the Community Working and Keeping Benefits

Working and Keeping Benefits

At the end of 2022, I completed my master’s degree in counseling. The next step after completing my degree was to apply for my associate number. Zack CollieAfter waiting a few weeks, it finally came in, and I started job searching. I started sending out my resume and got a few interviews. This would typically be great news, but I quickly realized I should have considered the income I would make and how that would impact my current benefits. As the jobs were discussing the pay and benefits, they offered, I forgot that when I started working, my benefits would change or I would lose them altogether. I have worked so hard to earn this degree. These past nine years, I have gone to school without breaks to get my bachelor's and master's degrees.

I was injured at 15 years old and started receiving SSI after my injury. I finished high school and graduated with my class and friends. I was adamant about not taking a year off and getting held back because I wanted to graduate with all of my friends. When I finished high school, I went straight into my bachelor's, which I got in Human Services. After finishing my degree, I went straight into my master’s program. I have worked really hard to get where I am today. Now that I am ready and excited to work, I forgot to think about the restrictions of working and keeping my Medi-Cal insurance. I qualify for this insurance because I have a life-long disability and am considered low-income. I get In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) through Medi-cal, which helps pay for my caregiving. I can't afford to lose my caregiving hours. Even with my current job, I wouldn’t make enough to support myself and a caregiver. I’m okay with losing my SSI, it isn’t that much anyways, but I need my caregiving benefits.

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I’m grateful for the resources the government offers, but they only go so far. Although they help, they keep you in a box. I depend on the government for certain benefits, but at the same time, there are many rules to follow to keep them. I started to panic after realizing it might be more challenging to find a job and keep my benefits than I thought. After doing research and talking to some people. I was happy to find out there are programs out there that help you keep certain benefits as long as you stay under a certain income. I'm in California, but every state has different laws and rules. It’s nice to know there are resources out there to help you work and keep some benefits. However, on the other hand, it's frustrating that if we make over a certain amount, more responsibilities fall on us.

I feel like no matter how much we make and if we have a lifelong disability, we should be able to keep our benefits no matter what. It sucks finally getting a job, being independent, trying to support myself, and worrying that I might lose the help I need because now I have an income. This whole process of finishing school, getting a job, and navigating how I can work and keep my benefits has been really eye-opening for me. I don't want people to feel discouraged after reading this. I know every state is different, but thankfully there are ways to work and keep some of our benefits. I wish this were something I was taught after my injury. There are so many things that I have had to figure out on my own that I wish I could have been taught to me early on.

About the Author - Zack Collie

Hi, my name is Zack and I am 29 years old. In 2010, at the age of 15, I suffered a spinal cord injury and was diagnosed as a C4 quadriplegic. Thirteen years later, I have a master’s degree in counseling, I’m married and working as a mental health therapist.

Zack Collie

The opinions expressed in these blogs are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

The National Paralysis Resource Center website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $10,000,000 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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