Thinking about my disabled son's future need to be able to receive financial credit, as necessary to be able to access a credit card or apply for a mortgage, I hatched a plan to help him build his
own credit history. The first thing I did was to put my home telephone service under his name. My service provider is Verizon. My telephone service is for one line with DSL service and a particular package, called a Freedom Package, that bundles DSL, long distance, and line service all together.After I changed the account name early last year, some time later Verizon sent my son a notice. It read:
"We're pleased to let you know that you can receive a special discount on your local Verizon phone service. Based on information from the New Jersey Departments of Human Services or Health and Senior Services, we've been notified that you are eligible for the Lifeline Program."
The "Lifeline Program" is the Verizon Lifeline Communications Program, established in New Jersey during the McGreevey administration. The program provides a monthly discount of up to $13.28 on basic phone service. Verizon will automatically enroll phone customers when they participate in at least one of eight state assistance programs for residents with low incomes. In addition, the company will allow seniors 65 years and older who meet income guidelines to enroll in the program simply by providing proof of income to Verizon.
The notice continued:
"Lifeline provides monthly discounts on basic telephone service. That means you can save up to $13.28 every month on your local phone service. However, before you can take advantage of Lifeline, you must mean certain requirements:
- You can only have one phone line in your house.
- You cannot purchase any Local, Regional, or Freedom Package."
- Food Stamps
- General Assistance
- Supplemental Security Income
- Medicaid
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families/Work First New Jersey
- Lifeline Utility Credit/Tenants' Lifeline Assistance
- Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled
- Home Energy Assistance Program
Because he is receiving SSI, Food Stamps and Medicaid, my son is eligible three times over for this program. Good news, I thought. Let's get him signed up!
But wait.
Disability Status Can Open Many Doors...
The availability to my disabled son of this kind of disability benefit underscores a very important support consideration for the mentally ill. The psychiatrically disabled should, if possible, get themselves a proper diagnosis of their illness from a doctor. Such a diagnosis is generally necessary for the Social Security Administration to make determination of disabled status. Such a determination leads to an entitlement to receive Supplemental Support Income, or SSI. And the receipt of SSI opens many doors to other financial support.
...If Only You First Can Get Through Some Gates...
The program requires an application, documentation about the disabled person's disability and finances, and an approval. Step One, then, is to get an application.
Not so easy...
The notice concluded:
"According to our records, you currently do not meet these requirements. However, if you'd like to take advantage of this discount, all you need to do is call the Verizon Business Office at 1-800-427-9977 (Mon.-Fri., 8:30 am-5:30 pm) and we'll remove any non-eligible service, so you can receive the Lifeline discount.
Sincerely,
Verizon Customer Service"
Descent Into Recorded Response Hell
All right. My son doesn't yet qualify. Better call Verizon, like the note says. Pick up the phone, punch in the number, 1--8-0-0--4-2-7--9-9-7-7... Ring. Ring. A recording answers.
"Thank you for calling Verizon. You have reached a non-working number at Verizon. Please call 1-800-VERIZON."
Oops.
OK. Call the new number, 1--8-0-0---V-E-R-I-Z-O-N...
A taped voice answers, "Thanks for calling Verizon, also on the web... Do you currently have a Verizon account? Press 1 for yes..."
I press 1.
"We appreciate you business. Please say or enter your phone number..."
I enter my phone number.
"You entered [xxx-xxx-xxxx]. Is that right?"
I say, "Right."
"OK. I've got your records. You can say Billing and Payments, press 1... or press * for help."
I press * for help.
"OK, here's some help..." The voice precedes to repeat the previous set of instructions. "High speed internet, press 1, Technical difficulty, press 2. Neither of these, press 3..."
Now exasperated, I pressed 0, hoping to short circuit the process.
"In order to transfer you to the right agent, I need to know..." .
I press 3 for "something else". Finally I get transferred "to someone who can help you".
"All representatives are currently assisting other customers..."
And now I wait. Think about what is happening here. I'm just trying to do what the note suggested I do, but now I'm stuck in a recorded-response do-loop. What if the caller is a psychiatrically disabled?
Not Here. Go There.
Last May, when I first called Verizon on my son's behalf, Verizon's rep told me that they would send a Lifeline application. None came. I forgot about this until last month, when I resolved to try it all again. On January 20, I got through to another Verizon rep. She told me that my son would have to get an application one of the agencies providing him one of the qualified services. Since he was getting SSI, he could get it from the Social Security Administration. Once in hand, he should complete the application, then send it in.
Ten days later, when my son visited Social Security's Trenton office to straighten out other details, he asked for the Lifeline Application, but SSA didn't have any. He was directed to the Mercer County Board of Social Services, which administers his Food Stamps.
A week later, my son visited the Board of Social Services to sort out his Food Stamps (which, as it turned out, required him first to get more documentation from other place. Read all about that in my previous post...) So he took the opportunity to ask for a Lifeline application. The case manager, Mr. Holloway, citing staffing shortages, said he was very busy and wasn't able to retrieve one for him just then, that he would send one to him in the mail.
Uh-huh... Still no Lifeline application in hand...
When At First You Don't Succeed...
Yikes. Maybe we ought to call Verizon again to ask just one more time for Verizon to send the application to us. Once again, I punched up the numbers: 1--8-0-0--V-E-R-I-Z-O-N... Once again I navigated the recorded response nonsense. I got to a live voice!
The answer was the same: your son will have to go to one of the agencies to get the application. I protested that he had received the original notice from Verizon saying that he is already eligible, but needed only to call Verizon to remove any non-eligible services.
"He received a notice from us?" the rep sheepishly asked. "Well, in that case..."
BINGO! All we needed to do was to arrange for the DSL currently on the line, an "ineligible" service, to be paid by a credit card. This would allow my son to get his discount, albeit on my telephone line.
Done! The rep took my credit card number over the phone, and now the Lifeline is enabled. What had taken six months to determine now took six minutes to conclude.
Still Not Quite Kosher?...
We're not completely disentangled, however. My disabled son, who unofficially resides with us, officially resides in his own rented apartment close by. Soon we are going to have to connect that apartment with a telephone line. This will mean that we must transfer his name from my telephone account to his own. Wishing to ensure correct compliance with the Lifeline Program's requirements, another time I called Verizon to ask how this could be done.
It turns out that such a transfer of his name from my account to his own account will necessitate a 3-5 day disruption in my DSL service! I'm not sure why. It seems to have something to do with a Verizon policy requiring a new credit check when a service is transferred... I'll have to think that one through... Maybe now that my DSL is being charged to my credit card, my son will be able to transfer his name to his new account without disrupting my DSL... But I don't know...
Such are the mental gymnastics required when taking on The System for the mentally ill. What psychiatrically afflicted loved one could do this without help? (Indeed, what highly capable "normal" family member can?...)
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