[Musical Interlude] Michelle Boardman: My name's Michelle Boardman. I'm a Community Work Incentives Coordinator, and I work at AHEDD. [Callout: Michelle Boardman, Community Work Incentives Coordinator and Ticket to Work program participant] AHEDD is a specialized human resource organization. We assist individuals with disabilities with obtaining competitive employment in the community. We provide job-placement services, so we assist with pre-employment activities and we assist with job coaching, placement, and follow-along services. That's our main focus. [Callout: Work Incentives counseling (also known as benefits counseling) is advice from a trained professional about what employment will mean for your benefits.] We also provide Work Incentives counseling to transition-aged youth aged 16 to 30 who are receiving Social Security benefits based on disability. [Callout: If you are considering work, it?s a good idea to consult a benefits counselor. To find one, use the FIND HELP Tool at choosework.net, or call the number at the end of this video.] So my main role is to assist individuals who receive SSI or SSDI or a child disability benefit with understanding impact of employment on a person's Social Security benefit. I have Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. It's a progressive degenerative disorder that eventually leads to needing to utilize a wheelchair for mobility, at least in my case. I walked until about the age of 13 and then from there I could no longer walk, so I use my chair to get around. Lori Tyndall: When I first met Michelle, I was blown away. [Callout: Lori Tyndall. AHEDD Program Specialist] She really does inspire me to work harder, to be better. Michelle has taught herself a lot and I think Michelle has a very good perspective on where other people are in their journey. And that helps her do her job very well. She was excited to learn that there were incentives for her to return to work and go to school and finish her education and plan. It was almost too good to be true. That she heard the information and had to go back and really think about it. When the information was summarized for her, then at a later date, it really hit home. [Callout: Work Incentives are rules that allow recipients of Social Security benefits to work while receiving Medicare or Medicaid and some cash payments from Social Security. To learn more about Work Incentives and understand how they apply to you, consult a Benefits Counselor.] Michelle Boardman: I always wanted to get a job, but there were a lot of barriers to getting a job for me. You know, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, so I took on little jobs here and there. But it was always making a little bit of money, and I was always told that if I make money that I would be in jeopardy of losing the benefits that I receive. So I really didn't pursue work very much because I was concerned about how work would impact my benefits. Lori Tyndall: Employment helps with quality of life. I mean for anybody, whether you have a disability or you don't, you go to work to increase your financial stability. And so it shouldn't be any different if somebody has a disability. Michelle Boardman: A month before graduation, I decided to go to a resource fair at Temple University. And it was a disability summit, and they had a panel discussion about going to work, and they had resource tables. [Callout: You can find benefits counselors and other Ticket program providers by using the FIND HELP Tool at choosework.net, or by calling the number referenced at the end of this video.] So I went to every table and the last table that I hit happened to be AHEDD. And AHEDD had a benefits counselor there, a Work Incentives Coordinator, who was informing individuals about going to work and how benefits would be impacted. [Callout: Download a free copy of Social Security?s guide to Work Incentives online (www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook)] I guess the Ticket to Work Program has allowed me to obtain the supports that I need. I don't necessarily need the ongoing job support that someone with a different type of disability might have. But for me, I need financial assistance with car modifications or I needed financial assistance at the time with paying for school. The Ticket to Work program assisted me with being able to obtain those employment supports that I would need to further my career, and to actually become employed. [Callout: To learn more about Work Incentives that allow you to fund work-related supports, see the Redbook and read Michele?s success story at choosework.net.] I think it's really important for people not to allow work to limit them financially. They have to do what's best for them. They have to do what's gonna be financially in their best interest. So, you know, determining how much they can work and still be able to obtain the services and supports that they need. And you don't want work to limit you, you want work to help you to become better off financially and better off with self-sufficiency. [Callout: For more information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/work or call 1-866-968-7842 (V) or 1-866-833-2967. [Musical Interlude]