07-20-2023, 07:49 PM
I'm being financially abused by my local food stamp office.
Hello.
My name is Anne.
After a lifetime of attracting all the wrong things, I'm getting my life together. My recovery from complex PTSD and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is going well and I'm making excellent progress with starting an online business.
I was in school, and living off student loans. It wasn't much, but I made it work. It was just a safety net, to keep me going, while I got my business going. I thought it was going to be good for at least a couple more years. But it ended suddenly. And then my truck died.
I've been living off grid for nearly 20 years. It's pretty hard, especially by myself. Impossible without a vehicle, out here in the middle of nowhere. A death sentence, really, without helpers.
In hindsight, I know it was my faulty upbringing that led me to having nothing. I internalized the lies that I "wasn't allowed" to have any of the basic necessities that everybody else enjoyed. And this has been reflected by the situations in my life. A non-stop downward spiral. I even lived in a tent for over a year, through two winters.
But I've been working on it hard, for a long time, and I've been slowly spiraling back up.
I just turned 60 in June of '22. I lost my student loan money, in October of '22. Shortly after that, I found out I qualified for Old Age Pension (by turning 60). Applying for it, though, was like pulling teeth.
The local food stamp office would not do anything to help me apply. They were incredibly condescending, but eventually did tell me the name of the website where I could apply online. Grudgingly.
I got my application done on Dec. 5, 2022. The website said it could take up to 45 days and that somebody would get in touch with me. Nobody ever did. After the 45 days, I started calling them. It took over TWO MONTHS to finally get a return phone call. I had left endless messages.
Long story short, I had to get free legal help to get them to do their job. I got the Old Age Pension, but it was only from April. I got April, May and June's benefits.
My lawyer agreed that I was entitled to back pay from my 12/5/22 application date. About $3,500.
I filed an appeal and the judge agreed with me and found in my favor!
Yay!
But then the county, who didn't even bother to show up for the hearing, filed an Exception.
The judge did not accept the Exception, said it was not valid, did not provide any new information (because there isn't any), plus they never showed up for the hearing...so she found for me again!
Yay!
They were ordered to give me my back pay within 3 days...and didn't.
This was July 11, 2023.
They also turned off my OAP money. I never got July's money. I've filed another appeal for that, but it takes a while.
Having familiarized myself with the system, and asking a lot of questions, I realized what the county will do next.
They have 35 days to file with Judicial Court...regular, non Human Services court. After they do that, it'll be another month before there's even a hearing. Two more months of no money for me. And god only knows how many continuances they will ask for...each would be another month apart. They do not have a case. Not at all. But they can exploit the system, drag it out as long as they can, just to cause me as much grief as possible.
I wish I knew what I did to be hated so much.
I do know, actually.
This county is really backwards. They've been inbreeding since Cortez and hate outsiders. I am (thankfully) not one of them. It's not just me. It's Standard Operating Procedure for them to lie, deny, delay and obstruct in any way they possibly can.
Before I got my OAP, I had $281/mo in food stamps. After I got my OAP, my food stamps went down to $101/mo. Which is totally fine. But now my food stamps are at the lower amount and I don't have my OAP.
This situation is DIRE!
I cannot afford to go to Denver for court, even once, let alone repeatedly.
I am, understandably, quite angry.
But being angry does not help my recovery program. I want to get them all fired, but that probably won't happen. After a few days of feeling really horrible, angry, depressed, horrified, an image come into my mind of men with guns coming to finally take care of me.
Yes, it was just my imagination, but I took it seriously. Those kinds of negative feelings never lead to anything good.
A couple of synchronicities later, I found myself here!
I AM going to follow through with the second appeal and the second complaint...and even file more of each, if I need to. But I am NOT going to put any of my precious emotional energy into it. I need to keep my energy pure. No more anger and hate, just taking care of business. Getting my paper work together, nothing else.
I need the money and I deserve to win. I also need the validation of standing up for myself. It's a necessary part of my recovery. I will not be shut down by some nasty old bully boys. That's been my life story up till now. The old me would've just taken it. But the new me says. “No! This is when it ends!”
All my emotional energy will go into my business and eBegging. I want to be surrounded by GOOD people, people who know right from wrong...and love the right!
Thank you so much for reading all this!
xxoo,
Anne
any amount will help
https://www.paypal.me/AnnaVitaPerenna
Hello.
My name is Anne.
After a lifetime of attracting all the wrong things, I'm getting my life together. My recovery from complex PTSD and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is going well and I'm making excellent progress with starting an online business.
I was in school, and living off student loans. It wasn't much, but I made it work. It was just a safety net, to keep me going, while I got my business going. I thought it was going to be good for at least a couple more years. But it ended suddenly. And then my truck died.
I've been living off grid for nearly 20 years. It's pretty hard, especially by myself. Impossible without a vehicle, out here in the middle of nowhere. A death sentence, really, without helpers.
In hindsight, I know it was my faulty upbringing that led me to having nothing. I internalized the lies that I "wasn't allowed" to have any of the basic necessities that everybody else enjoyed. And this has been reflected by the situations in my life. A non-stop downward spiral. I even lived in a tent for over a year, through two winters.
But I've been working on it hard, for a long time, and I've been slowly spiraling back up.
I just turned 60 in June of '22. I lost my student loan money, in October of '22. Shortly after that, I found out I qualified for Old Age Pension (by turning 60). Applying for it, though, was like pulling teeth.
The local food stamp office would not do anything to help me apply. They were incredibly condescending, but eventually did tell me the name of the website where I could apply online. Grudgingly.
I got my application done on Dec. 5, 2022. The website said it could take up to 45 days and that somebody would get in touch with me. Nobody ever did. After the 45 days, I started calling them. It took over TWO MONTHS to finally get a return phone call. I had left endless messages.
Long story short, I had to get free legal help to get them to do their job. I got the Old Age Pension, but it was only from April. I got April, May and June's benefits.
My lawyer agreed that I was entitled to back pay from my 12/5/22 application date. About $3,500.
I filed an appeal and the judge agreed with me and found in my favor!
Yay!
But then the county, who didn't even bother to show up for the hearing, filed an Exception.
The judge did not accept the Exception, said it was not valid, did not provide any new information (because there isn't any), plus they never showed up for the hearing...so she found for me again!
Yay!
They were ordered to give me my back pay within 3 days...and didn't.
This was July 11, 2023.
They also turned off my OAP money. I never got July's money. I've filed another appeal for that, but it takes a while.
Having familiarized myself with the system, and asking a lot of questions, I realized what the county will do next.
They have 35 days to file with Judicial Court...regular, non Human Services court. After they do that, it'll be another month before there's even a hearing. Two more months of no money for me. And god only knows how many continuances they will ask for...each would be another month apart. They do not have a case. Not at all. But they can exploit the system, drag it out as long as they can, just to cause me as much grief as possible.
I wish I knew what I did to be hated so much.
I do know, actually.
This county is really backwards. They've been inbreeding since Cortez and hate outsiders. I am (thankfully) not one of them. It's not just me. It's Standard Operating Procedure for them to lie, deny, delay and obstruct in any way they possibly can.
Before I got my OAP, I had $281/mo in food stamps. After I got my OAP, my food stamps went down to $101/mo. Which is totally fine. But now my food stamps are at the lower amount and I don't have my OAP.
This situation is DIRE!
I cannot afford to go to Denver for court, even once, let alone repeatedly.
I am, understandably, quite angry.
But being angry does not help my recovery program. I want to get them all fired, but that probably won't happen. After a few days of feeling really horrible, angry, depressed, horrified, an image come into my mind of men with guns coming to finally take care of me.
Yes, it was just my imagination, but I took it seriously. Those kinds of negative feelings never lead to anything good.
A couple of synchronicities later, I found myself here!
I AM going to follow through with the second appeal and the second complaint...and even file more of each, if I need to. But I am NOT going to put any of my precious emotional energy into it. I need to keep my energy pure. No more anger and hate, just taking care of business. Getting my paper work together, nothing else.
I need the money and I deserve to win. I also need the validation of standing up for myself. It's a necessary part of my recovery. I will not be shut down by some nasty old bully boys. That's been my life story up till now. The old me would've just taken it. But the new me says. “No! This is when it ends!”
All my emotional energy will go into my business and eBegging. I want to be surrounded by GOOD people, people who know right from wrong...and love the right!
Thank you so much for reading all this!
xxoo,
Anne
any amount will help
https://www.paypal.me/AnnaVitaPerenna