Aimless wrote:
This is why sending money is good for the short term but he needs a long term solution. It would be great to find someone to advocate for him. If he is on SSDI he should have resources available. There's section 8 housing and food stamps and Medicaid. What happened that he doesn't have access to these things?
It's possible that his record/legal issues are barring him from accessing subsidized housing. I work for a social services agency and the hardest clients to get housed are the ones with any type of record, even if it's something fairly minor and there were extenuating circumstances. Sometimes even people with medical problems, who are unable to work and need help with housing the most, are also difficult to get housing for because they tend to have bad credit history, due to their medical expenses. There are a lot of flaws in the system and it's hard to get exceptions made to the rules for your clients, even when it's clearly the right thing to do.
Also, I don't know what it is like in California, but in my area, the waiting list for Section 8 is closed. If there is an opening they will make an annoucement and fill it through a lottery system. So, it takes on average 6-8 years to get a Housing Choice voucher here, unless someone is very lucky. How someone is homeless and not currently working with a social worker could ever hear an announcement like that I have no idea.
Aimless wrote:
Even if the judge did appoint a beneficiary payee, the purpose of that is for that payee to make sure ASS-P's needs are met. I think a crime is being committed.
It's very possible. But, it is hard to say without knowing the details. If he has fines relating to his legal issues, it might be that the Rep Payee needs to make payments towards dealing with those and he is only being given what is left over each month. The bottom line, though, is that there is an appeal process through the SSA and he has the right to file one, if he believes his rights are being violated. And, he certainly has the right to know the details of how and why his money is being spent the way it is.
By the way, does anyone know if Walter is a Veteran? Just curious because, if so, getting a social worker through the VA system and access to short-term housing for homeless vets could be an option.