Volunteer Position Develops into Full Time Employment

After Sarah met some AC employees at a job fair in October 2009, she was convinced she could work. 

A few weeks later, Sarah begin volunteering as a hostess in the cafeteria at a local hospital to gain experience and make sure she could physically manage working every day.  In just a few months, she was offered a part-time position in one of the hospital’s registry departments.  After a few weeks, the hospital staff was so impressed that they offered Sarah a full-time position.

Though she wanted to accept immediately, she asked for time to talk to her mom. Her mother was apprehensive.  She was proud that Sarah was so successful, but scared that she would lose her benefits.  Sarah and her mom knew they needed more in depth information about working and benefits so they called the Advocacy Center for help.

The Advocacy Center’s Work Incentives staff got right to work, scheduling a meeting to talk to Sarah and her mom about the impact of full-time employment on Sarah’s benefits.

At the meeting, they discussed a variety of work incentives and reviewed a number of programs, including the Trial Work Period, Extended Period of Eligibility, and the SSI calculation. Due to the Sarah’s disability, she needed special transportation to and from work so the Work Incentives coordinator explained the Impairment Related Work Expenses incentive in great detail.

One of Sarah’s Mom’s biggest concerns was the preservation of Sarah’s medical benefits. The AC Work Incentives coordinator spent over an hour answering all her questions and allaying her fears.

Sarah has now accepted the full-time job with the complete support of her mom.