Success Stories
One day at a time for this father
After being estranged for two years, Adam[1], a single dad received custody of his three daughters by default due to their mother abandoning them at a hospital out of state. One of his children requires 24-hour skilled care and Adam works as a self-employed barber. After receiving a referral from an elementary school nurse, we were able to reach out to Adam in October 2018. Within a week of our first conversation, we completed a new KanCare application for the children, helped Adam apply for SNAP, and provided guidance regarding a SSDI application for his disabled daughter. Through several more conversations with Adam, we learned that due to the sudden increase in his family size he no longer could stay in his one-bedroom apartment. Upon learning this, we used our contacts at the Douglas County Housing Authority to help him find a new home for his family. Through many months of communication with Adam, we would learn that his daughter’s SSDi benefits were still being delivered to the children’s mother. We assisted with submitting records to Social Security to prove that the children were now solely in his custody, and payments began to go to him. Not only do his children now have KS Medicaid, but Adam has been able to provide his daughter with a new motorized wheelchair. He has also recently opened his own barber shop. We are currently assisting with the children's KanCare Medicaid renewal applications, as well as a new application for Home based care, so that Kaylin can receive the constant care she needs while Adam works more hours at his Barber shop.
A Dad's Journey to well-being
A single dad of a high school student, came to us for help getting his son enrolled in Kansas Medicaid after it had recently been denied. After meeting with the father and helping him get coverage for his child, we also discovered Medicaid eligibility for him. Although he had not yet come to terms with it, the Dad had recently been diagnosed with a debilitating mental illness. While he was in our office, we provided him with the basic paperwork needed for Compass to assist him as an advocate. This is when we discovered that the father was illiterate and only had a middle-school education. Due to this, he had only ever been able to work custodial jobs and could never hold on to one for more than a year. When asked why he never applied for Social Security Disability before, he admitted that he had been denied numerous times. He could not complete the paperwork correctly, and he did not want to confess his illiteracy. Even though his condition made it difficult for him to leave his home or to trust those around him, Compass was able to aid him applying for Social Security and Kansas Disability Medicaid, and Kansas Caretakers Medicaid. Through this process it became apparent that Dad's biggest fear was losing his housing due to his inability to leave the house. Compass worked with the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority to report his progress with resident services, who were then able to drop his rent while his Social Security application was pending. He was very recently approved for Social Security, only several months after his latest application, as well as Kansas Medicaid. Compass was able to aid this father in obtaining healthcare, but he now has a new sense of self confidence and commitment to advocate for himself.
Progress through Determination
Compass assisted a client with a Kansas Disability Medicaid Application. She was recently approved for MediKan benefits, which is a temporary coverage the state at times provides when it is unclear if a person fully meets Disability Criteria. She has been homeless for 10 years and is constantly in an out of the hospital due to esophageal issues. Our subject is also an alcoholic, which can make it very difficult for her to obtain SS Disability benefits, as well as KanCare. Four months ago, Compass began helping her with obtaining Medicaid benefits. Since then, we have also aided her in applying for housing, as well as helped her apply and win a $50.00 Walmart Gift card through 100 Good Women. Our client has also been attending AA and is now 3 months Sober. Recently, she became ill again, but instead of waiting until it became so bad that an ER visit was necessary, she made an appointment at Heartland Community Health Center to obtain preventative care. Our client is learning how to ask for help in the most productive ways.