There's been something going through my mind for the past several months that I just have to get out on some type of social media. That topic is social services and its affect on the clients who use them. In my instance, I'm specifically talking bout voc rehab and advocacy. At times, it is really shameful for me to admit that I received my degree in social work. Before anyone has a heart attack, I don't mean that helping people is shameful. I went into this field because I wanted to help people. I still do. I've also been on the receiving end of social services for a while now. I get SSI and I got a lot of help with college tuition from OVR in PA. I even got driver training from them and they helped me get my license. I'm eternally grateful for these things. I truly am.
My frustration started with OVR in PA when I needed to get driving training. I remember asking my very first counselor if I could get driving lessons at college or during a summer break. They said no. It wasn't that big of a deal at the time because I was on campus and had friends with cars, so I could get around that way. As I moved through college, I started using the van service provided to students with disabilities, which OVR helped me with. Another thing I'm grateful for.
However, I needed to start a "pre-field" fall semester senior year. Now granted, I did start a little late, but it still took a ridiculous amount of time to get the services. I found out that if I moved my official address to school, I'd be able to get driver's training. I was ecstatic! I switched to the Erie office in maybe early August or late July. I met with my counselor that October. Then, due to miscommunication, nothing more happened until February-ish. Then by the time everything got approved, I actually started my lessons in mid-April. I did about 30 hours of training. My instructors were awesome. They completely worked with my hectic schedule and were awesome teachers. I love them. So I eventually ended up getting my license a week before graduation. It was a such a great feeling.
My original plan was to have my license by the time I started my internship in the spring, but that didn't happen. It was extremely stressful trying to figure out bus schedules and/or if I could get a ride from friends. That was just a fact of life, but it was still annoying. I can't tell you how many stories I have from those bus trips. The best one was on my very first day, but I'll get to that at a later post.
Since I didn't get my license until basically I was leaving the state, I couldn't get hand controls from PA. I honestly didn't think it was going to be such a bummer for this to happen. Once I moved up to NY, I found out that I had to completely start over with my OVR case. I had to re-apply to the NY agency/branch/office or whatever it's called. I started that process in June 2013. I did everything I needed to do, like have several meetings before I could actually meet with my counselor. I got doctors to fill out paperwork. I got my car inspected. I got another driving evaluation because the one I got done in PA wasn't valid in NY. All relatively understandable, just mildly annoying. You know, the typical government-run drawn out processes. Anyway, even with the paperwork from PA, I had to get this evaluation done, which basically came with the same exact results.
Then came the waiting came of getting it approved. I was told by the woman who did my evaluation that ACCES-VR (the NY department of voc rehab) had 2 or 3 weeks to send out bids to vendors for hand controls and the vendors had 2-3 weeks to send their bids back and then ACCES-VR would choose a vendor and I could get my hand controls. In total, it was supposed to take at most 5 weeks from when the paperwork was submitted. I believe I got notified when the paperwork was submitted, and it didn't take that long. Then the results got sent to the Syracuse office for approval, which I got. I even got a personal call from the man who was looking over my case to talk about some adjustments that I would need/be taken off. That's the last I've really heart about a solid movement towards me getting my hand controls, and that was mid-December. From what I had been told, that should've meant that I got my hand controls in about 6 or so weeks. I was ecstatic, because 6 weeks was on the longer side.
Several weeks went by and I didn't hear anything from my counselor. Then, after emailing and calling my counselor several times, he emailed me mid-January telling me that the contracts with the vendors had expired on the 31st, aka 2 weeks prior. I was furious because this meant that it was pretty much put on hold. I sent a very strongly worded email to him relaying this anger, and he had the audacity to reply in a rude manner. I was so pissed.
Now 2 months have passed since the email and I still haven't heard anything. I tried emailing him a few weeks ago and he literally told me he hadn't heard anything since his last inquiry on 1/17/14.
This is where my advice starts. Don't EVER tell a client that you haven't done anything with their case, that YOU messed upon, in over a month. Ever. I cannot express this enough. I thought this was common sense, but apparently not. I can't believe he had the nerve to tell me that he hadn't done anything in a month like it was nothing.
I got some advice from friends to go through the Center for Disability Rights, which I did. I got hooked up with an advocate in almost half the time they said it would take. Then I needed a form that she said she would mail me the next day. She said to be patient with the mail because it supposedly was being slow. Well, slow it was. I didn't get anything for over 2 weeks. This wasn't a big package either. It was 2 pieces of paper in a regular envelope. I've had bigger things get to me from huge companies, regular shipping, in shorter times. I called this woman once to ask what I should do since I hadn't gotten it in a week or so, and she said to call her if I hadn't gotten it by that Monday. That was a Thursday or Friday. When it didn't come, I called. Got no answer. I called 2 or 3 more times that week and 1 or 2 times the next week. I heard nothing. I finally got the letter about 2 and a half weeks after it was supposedly sent. I sent it over a week ago and still haven't heard anything.
I just can't believe that an advocate is being this impossible to get in touch with. I've called her cell and office. When I called the main number, they didn't even know who I was talking about at first. Like, WTF? This is an ADVOCACY center.
I've struggled very much for the past several months with this situation. I've got people all over baffled as to why it's taking this long.
The worst part about all of this is that it feels terrible to feel like you're not being taken seriously or that they don't give flying &*$% about you or your life. It's like I'm not even a human being. My counselor knows the area that I live in and how rural and out of the way it is. Not to mention that it's been during the winter months so I can't even push the 2 miles to get to the library. I should probably mention that I've tried to contact my assemblyman several times and his assistants have been very avoidant. I could understand if I was being abrasive or rude, but I believe in the philosophy "kill them with kindness" and that's exactly what I've been doing.
I'll admit I haven't doing too much in the past week or so, but I'm just so tired of dealing with all of this shit. I try to be positive and think that every call is another step, but I'm marching in place at this point. Excuse me, it's like I'm moving side to side with no actual movement forward.
So now I'm gonna stop my soapbox. If you've read through until this point, congratulations! =P Seriously though, if you take nothing from this post, please remember that the people you are working with are real people who NEED your help. Don't treat them like a name on a piece of paper and leave their case file in a pile on your desk. You never know what's going on with them and how the waiting and rejection is truly affecting their lives. In my case, I haven't been able to work, go to school, or do anything independently. I've got generalized anxiety disorder coupled with depression and sitting at home with nothing to do all day really is not helping at all, never mind the feeling of being ignored and that I'm not worth helping. I've got a degree. I lived on my own for 4 years. I've provided for myself ever since I went to college, and now I'm reverted back to a child-like dependence on my parents because I'm not seen as a real person and it SUCKS.
<3 Poison
