Dave receives two key benefits that allow him to afford rent and fund his day to day needs. Dave has a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8), which pays a portion of his rent, and a Person/Family Directed Support Waiver, which funds the supports he needs to live day to day.
Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (section 8), funded by the federal government, pays for part of Dave’s rent. The amount they pay is adjusted depending on his income. When Dave was receiving SSI and not yet working at Goodwill, the program paid about 75% of his rent. Currently, Dave earns wages from Goodwill, and receives SSDI and SS Retirement. The Housing Voucher now pays about 25% of his rent. The main eligibility requirement for Section 8 is income. Income limits for the section 8 program depend on where you live. This program counts his wages *and* his social security benefits.
The Section 8 voucher is the benefit that I worry most about losing. Because Dave receives two types of social security, he is currently getting close to the limit. As I understand it, if he goes over that limit, he will have a 6-month grace period. If he is still over the limit after 6 months, he will lose the benefit, period. And it won’t be easy to get it back. He would have to start over with the application process.
As outlined in my post on Section 8, that process involves waiting until the application period is open, applying, and waiting for 18 months for a decision. Unfortunately, the period when applications are being accepted is unpredictable. If he loses Section 8 benefits, it would presumably mean that he could afford to pay his full rent on his own. That is a good thing! But I worry that, if for some reason he is unable to continue working, he would no longer have a place of his own. So we carefully monitor how close Dave comes to the eligibility limit for Section 8.
Person/Family Directed Support Waiver
A key benefit for maintaining Dave’s independent living arrangement is his Person/Family Directed Support Waiver, which is funded by Medicaid. The P/FDS Waiver provides a specific level of funding on a yearly basis. The “Person/Family Directed” part means that the individual with a disability and their family choose how the funds are used. In Dave’s case, the program pays for his habilitation aides, companion services, transportation to and from work, a job coach, and a week at camp each year. The habilitation aides, in particular, are key to his ability to live independently. At times when Dave resists complying with their requests to, for example, clean the bathroom, I remind him that he would not be able to live his “dream come true” without them.