Mauricio’s Family Gets SSI Income Due
Mauricio’s Family Gets SSI Income Due
Mauricio’s SSI benefits were terminated. During the time that 5-year-old Mauricio did not receive his SSI check, his mother had to borrow money from acquaintances and go into debt to pay the rent and purchase basic necessities for Mauricio. Social Security eventually reinstated his benefits and paid the money owed, but a representative payee held the account for Mauricio and would not release any funds to pay the debts that Mauricio’s mother still owed. OCRA reviewed Mauricio’s mother’s receipts, contacted the representative payee, and wrote a letter explaining how the funds should be released to pay the debts for Mauricio’s expenses. OCRA also helped set up a plan to pay for socialization training for Mauricio. Thanks to OCRA’s intervention, Mauricio’s family received $6,500 to pay off their current debt and the rest will be going toward his living expenses and ongoing care.