Outreach to Vulnerable Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: April 2, 2021
Last week, over 1,500 people joined me on a national conference call to learn how their organizations can help the Social Security Administration assist our most vulnerable populations during COVID-19. Participants included representatives of the non-profit community, health care organizations, private industry, Federal, State, and local government, and Congress. The response was nothing short of extraordinary and serves as an example of the public service spirit that unites us all.
Now, more than ever, it is vital that we join together to serve our most vulnerable populations. People who struggle with low-income, limited English proficiency, homelessness, or with mental illness, have historically relied on meeting with us in person at our local offices to get the help they need. With our offices currently unable to accept walk-in visitors to protect both our beneficiaries and our work force during the pandemic, it is essential that we continue to engage with the public online, on the telephone, and by appointment for limited, critical situations.
To address the challenge of continuing to serve those who need us most, we’ve joined with external partners to launch a new national outreach campaign. The goal of the campaign is to connect eligible individuals to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The SSI and SSDI programs provide critical financial assistance, including life-saving access to healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in many cases.
Key components of our outreach campaign include:
- Working with community-based groups that can assist with taking applications for SSI and SSDI.
- Launching a national advertising campaign on TV, radio, and social media, with emphasis on children with disabilities.
- Adding a number of new online tools and informational pages, including:
- Online resources for People Helping Others access our services.
- Online Outreach Materials for Vulnerable Populations for partner groups to use.
- Updated information for Faith-Based and Community Groups, including a new toolkit and fact sheets about SSI and SSDI.
I want to thank the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for working with us and sharing our website and products with their national network of faith and community leaders.
I also want to thank members of the claimant advocacy community for their collaboration on this campaign. We will feature their perspectives on serving vulnerable populations on this blog site over the coming weeks.
Please be sure to subscribe to this blog so that you receive alerts whenever we publish new articles from our partners. We will also share the latest information about our national outreach campaign here.
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Tags: COVID-19, Disability, People Facing Barriers, Social Security benefits
See CommentsAbout the Author
Andrew Saul, Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Commissioner of Social Security Administration (June 17, 2019 - July 9, 2021)
Comments
Comments are closed.
Bridget
Why does the get my payment tool say I need deposit information when I have a direct express card?
Vonda
Hi Bridget, thanks for using our blog. The IRS announced on March 30 that it will begin to issue economic impact payments (EIP) to Social Security and SSI recipients who do not normally file a tax return. The majority of EIPs will be paid through direct deposit and to existing Direct Express cards, and should be received on April 7. We are waiting for information from the IRS about timing for people who will receive their EIP by mail. Check out our Social Security and Coronavirus web page for more details. We hope this helps.
Dennis W.
When is the vaccine going to be delivered to people who are home bound and cannot go to a vaccination center?
Not G.
Severe incompetence displayed here in all its forms. Outreach and commercials? Are you kidding??? The utter incompetence of our latest lackey leftover from an administration that stole billions from this country, has denied all the poor, sick and broken people on SSI the pandemic relief which half the country is currently using to fund their vacation.
You should all be ashamed to be offering assistance to those most in need, last of all, during this time of crisis.
javad
thank you for sharing wonderful article
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Maria H.
I paid my health care when I was working, but I remarried in the Philippines and I’m 65 but I can’t use my Medicare here but still deducting Medicare from my SSA benefit by $145. Please explain. Must I discontinue my Medicare coz, I pay cash here when I see a doctor
Vonda
Hi Maria, thanks for using our blog. In most situations, Medicare won’t pay for health care or supplies you get outside the United States. Check out Medicare’s factsheet “Medicare Coverage Outside the United States” for more details.
If you decide to terminate Medicare Part B, check out our Frequently Asked Questions web page for the details.
However, because you can only sign up for Medicare Part B during designated enrollment periods, if you choose to terminate Part B and later change your mind, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B coverage.
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B H.
COVID is affecting our lives terribly, especially Veterans, retirees, those living already in the poorest in health, the disabled ♿ Why are the poorest still waiting for the 3rd stimulus funds?
Helen M.
We ask questions and get no answers or responses. We are both on Social Security, my husband is retired and I am disabled yet WE have not gotten a 3rd stimulus. Why? We don’t make a ton of money, answers on your website are a joke, and we had no trouble with 1st 2 stimulus direct deposits. Do we or don’t we get one? IRS website is a joke!
Cheryl
You do get one sometime this week if you haven’t already.
Google “where’s my stimulus?”
Vonda
Hi Helen, thanks for using our blog. The IRS announced on March 30 that it will begin to issue economic impact payments (EIP) to Social Security and SSI recipients who do not normally file a tax return. The majority of EIPs will be paid through direct deposit and to existing Direct Express cards, and should be received on April 7. We are waiting for information from the IRS about timing for people who will receive their EIP by mail. Check out our Social Security and Coronavirus web page for more details. We hope this helps.
Yvonne B.
I hope all the help you are offering is for American citizens and not for non citizens that’s coming over.
LAM
I agree ..those of us who have been US citizens and paid into social security and have worked hard for a living and most of all paid taxes!! We deserve it.They get to come over from where ever, not pay taxes or anything They take away housing,public assistance,food stamps ect..Dam it they should have to earn a honest living like we in the US do.I feel they are coming over getting everything handed to them on a silver platter.Think about it US stop them from taking away from people in our states.There are people in the US that deserve it more then they do.
R A.
Another joke… I read in the news that one of our local help agencies got millions from the CARES Act package and would help and assist anyone anyway that they can. They had money that wasn’t distributed for a 2 County area and were looking for clients. I went to their website and filled out my info in all the dialog boxes, clicked send…. nothing, crickets, page did not work in the latest updated FireFox. OK been there before with these new HTML5 browsers, try it in another browser (I have 5) chromium based 3 different flavors ditto, I had to back up to Internet Explorer 11 to get the page to work and got a confirmation dialog to check my email for a confirmation link.
All I got was this:
To activate your subscription, please follow the link below.
If you do not click the link provided, you will not be subscribed to this mailing list. You can also unsubscribe at any time.
Then a page requesting me to friend them in FaceBook. I Check out their FaceBook and see that they only have 179 likes, 190 followers, and the last post was May of 2020. Pretty dead if you ask me.
Nothing but crickets from them in a follow up call or the mailing list that was subscribed too in February 2021.
Also the sites page comes up with “Your connection is not private” via a GoDaddy domain.
Brian W.
I do not expect a email back ,and id maybe thankful if you do get ahold of me ! For 38 years now ive been trying to apply for SSDI on my parents my dad social security who was a Government worker for 30 years at tinker air fore base he was a WW2 and Korean war disabled veteran. My situation is when I was 17 years old I was in a auto/pedestrian automobile accident where I was standing at the finish line watching a 2-car drag race when one of the drivers lost control therefore leaving the roadway hitting me shattering my left hip and femur then sucking me under the vehicle which was traveling at over 90 mph where I stayed under the vehicle until it came to a stop and out of 3 of us that were hit I was the first one hit but the last one found wrapped around the rear axle and had to be cut out to be removed and was took to 3 different hospitals with closed head injury , frontal lobe damage ,cerebral contusion , cerebral hemmorging , internal bleeding , shattered left hip and femur , coma , and stayed in the last hospital for months where I eventually learned how to walk again. I cannot get the records so ive asked the SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION HERE IN OKLAHOMA if they could retrieve the records for me from the 3 hospitals . And the state of Okahoma or the SSA SAYS IM NOT DISABLED ,AND THERES JUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES , I SURE CANNOT TELL .
Shannon
My dad ROGER R. WICKEY, retired then worked civilian on flight line, at TINKER! Small world. He passed away suddenly in OCT. of 2019. It’s been rough Bc I live in INDIANA and didn’t have a way to get money ($362.00 for a round trip) to see him let alone say goodbye. This is the 1st time since he’s passed. That I felt like he went through you and your post to let me know he’s still with me. Wishing you all the best and thank you for your post. GOD BLESS!!!
Holly
I’m so sorry that happened to you. And you can request your !medical records and they can fee waiver your request from any hospital you have ever been too. I would hire an attorney immediately. Its free upfront they only get paid if you win. The faster you file the better because it can only be backdated a year from filing and minus 5 months from that. Please get an attorneys help they can get all of that or you and I wish u nothing but the best!!!!
Holly
This is common for everyone. It tells me my email doesn’t work and I have confirmed and verified over 100x times. Downloaded adobe etc and than another reason why I cant log in and all of it never goes anywhere.