If you suffer from a mental illness that prevents you from working a full time job to support yourself, there are a few things you can do to try to help yourself financially. Mental illness may cause a financial burden to a person whose illness is severe enough to interfere with their ability to work. It may be hard for a person with a disabling mental illness to live independently or to pay bills and even buy food. Here are a few ideas that may be helpful financially if you are unable to work due to a mental disorder or condition.
You may want to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance or Social Security Supplemental Insurance. The process of applying for disability benefits may be hard and stressful. Some people may wonder if they qualify for disability benefits. In order to do so, you will need to fill out an application, which can be done right on the Social Security website, which is at www.ssa.gov. In order to increase your odds of being approved for benefits, it would be best to make sure you are seeing a professional mental health therapist or doctor regularly. This way the doctor or therapist can vouch for your mental condition and inability to work.
You may also want to apply for cash assistance from your local welfare office, especially if you have already applied for Social Security benefits and you are waiting for a response to your application. Cash assistance might help you to pay for personal items or household products. It may also give you a small amount of income to help out with paying a bill or two.
Food stamps are another form of financial assistance that may be available to you through your local county’s welfare office. Food stamps can help you to buy food at your local grocery store, if the store accepts this type of payment. Food stamp benefits are paid depending upon your household size and income. If you are approved for food stamps, you will be given a set amount of money to use each month for the purchase of food items only. If you can not leave your house, due to your mental illness, you may be able to assign someone to your food stamp account. This person will then be able to go shopping for you.
If you do not have health insurance, medical assistance is also offered for people with disabilities and a low income. You can apply for medical assistance at your local county welfare office or online at their website. Also, if you apply for Social Security benefits and you get approved, you may be able to receive medical insurance through Medicare or another other type of health insurance.
Certain utility companies may offer help to those who are disabled and can not work. You may be eligible to receive a discount or other type of financial help with your electric or heating bill. You could either call the utility company and ask what types of assistance they offer or you could ask your local county welfare office for help.
Cell phones are being offered for free with a very low monthly cost for those who are on different types of financial assistance. If you become approved for assistance, you may want to ask your local welfare or disability office how you can obtain an affordable cell phone plan.
There is financial aid available that you can apply for if you are able to take online courses. Online courses may be a good idea for someone who can not leave their house but are interested in furthering their education. It may help to have an educational background that can prepare you for a career. If you are able to do work from your home, you may want to search for careers that allow you to work from home and then take the courses needed to pursue that career. You can apply for financial aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov. By taking online courses and pursing a career, you may be able to help yourself to become financially independent.
If you are able to work part time, you may still be able to receive Social Security or welfare benefits, depending upon how many hours you work and how much you are making. Basically, in order to be approved for any type of financial assistance, you may have to show proof of your mental illness and your inability to work, and this usually requires documents or statements from a doctor or mental health therapist who treats you.