WISE Ticket to Work Webinar
Ticket to Work and Mental Health
June 23, 2021

Speakers: Sarah Hyland (Moderator), Ray Cebula (Presenter)

SARAH>> Good afternoon and welcome to today's Ticket to Work webinar, "Ticket to Work and Mental Health." 

My name is Sarah Hyland, and I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team. I will be your moderator for today's webinar. 

We are so glad that you chose to be with us today to learn about Social Security's Ticket to Work Program and how it can help you as you start on the path to financial independence through work. We're so glad you were able to take time to spend with us today to learn about the Social Security's Ticket to Work Program and how it can help you as you start on your path to financial independence through work. Each of us has our own path to follow, and we hope you find some information today that will assist you in moving forward on your path to employment and financial independence. 

Let's get started by going over some functions of the webinar platform so that you can interact and get the most out of today's webinar. 

First, you can manage your audio by using the Audio option at the top of your screen. The Audio option is an icon that looks like a microphone or a telephone. 

All attendees will be muted throughout today's webinar; thus, when presented with the options to joining the audio conference, choose "Listen Only," which appears at the bottom right in the Audio menu. Clicking "Listen Only" allows the sound to be broadcast through your computer speakers or your headphones. Please make sure your speakers are turned on or your headphones are plugged in. If you are unable to connect to the audio with your computer or prefer to listen to webinar by phone, dial 1-800-832-0736 and enter access code 4189148#. 

Next, we will share some information about webinar accessibility. You may have noticed that Adobe Connect platform has made some updates since the last time we were together. These updates will not affect today's webinar; but if you experience any technical difficulties, please use the Q&A pod to send us a message; or you can send us an e-mail at the Ticket to Work e-mail address, which is webinars@choosework.ssa.gov.  

On the Adobe Connect platform, you will notice that your screen has four different boxes. These boxes are called "pods." We have the Presentation pod where the slides appear. Below that is the Closed Captioning pod. In the top right-hand corner, you will see the Q&A pod; and below the Q&A pod is the Weblinks pod. We will talk about these pods in more detail in just a few moments.

If you need assistance navigating Adobe Connect, an Accessibility User Guide with a list of controls is available at www.http://bit.ly/adobe-accessibility. This link is also available in the Weblinks pod at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, and is titled "Adobe Accessibility User Guide." 

Real-time captioning is available and is displayed in the Captioning pod, which is the box that appears below the slide that is on your screen right now. The captioning link can be found in the Weblinks pod under the title, "Closed Captioning." 

If you are fluent in ASL and would like support for today's webinar, follow the link below that provides instructions to connect with an interpreter through the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Video Relay Service, VRS. The ASL User Guide can also be found in the Weblinks pod under the title, "ASL User Guide." 

We are here today to answer any questions that you may have on the Ticket to Work Program. Please send in your questions to us at any time throughout the webinar by typing them into the Q&A pod. We will direct the questions to our speaker during the Q&A portions of our webinar. We will be addressing questions today at two different points throughout the presentation; so go ahead and send in those questions in, and we will do our best to answer as many of them as possible. If you're listening by phone and are not logged into the webinar, you may ask questions by sending an e-mail to the Ticket to Work e-mail, which is webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. 

Another resource available that we think you will find extremely helpful in connecting to different resources mentioned today is the Weblinks pod, which you will find at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. This pod lists all of the links to the resources presented during today's webinar. To access any of these resources, simply highlight the topic you are interested in and would like to connect to; and then select the "Browse To" button. At the bottom of the pod, you will then be taken to the website requested. If you are listening by phone and not logged into the webinar or don't have access to the Weblinks pod, you can always e-mail the Ticket to Work e-mail address, webinars@choosework.ssa.gov; or reference the confirmation e-mail that you received for today's webinar for a list of available resources. Also, please note that SSA cannot guarantee and is not responsible for the accessibility of external websites. 

Today's webinar is being recorded; and a copy of it will be available within two weeks on the Choose Work website, which can be accessed at www.http://bit.ly/WISE_OnDemand. This link can be found with the others in the Weblinks pod and will be titled, "WISE Webinar Archives." 

We hope everyone has a great experience on the webinar today. However, if you run into any technical difficulties, use the Q&A pod to send us a message; or you can send an e-mail to webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. 

As I mentioned earlier, my name is Sarah Hyland; and I am a member of the Ticket to Work team. I'm excited to be here with you today as your moderator. We are also delighted to have Ray Cebula join us today to share his knowledge of the Ticket to Work Program. Ray received his law degree from the University of New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce School of Law. He spent 23 years providing legal services to individuals with disabilities in their interactions with Social Security. He became part of Cornell University's Work Incentive Support Center in 2000; and then in 2005, he joined the staff of Cornell's Yang Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, where he now serves as the program director of YTI Online, and that is Cornell's Work Incentive Practitioner Credentialing Program. 

I want to thank you again for joining us today to discuss Social Security's Ticket Program and how it can help you and answer your questions relating to:
Social Security's Ticket Program
Ticket Program Service Providers
Managing Stress During Search and on the Job

With that, it is my pleasure to introduce Ray Cebula to start us off with the Ticket to Work Program and support on your journey to work, as well as service providers.

Thank you, Ray.

RAY>> Thank you, Sarah.

It's good to be with everybody again. I do have one announcement to make before we begin. We're not going to be taking any questions concerning COVID-19, and I am going to direct you to the Social Security update website, which can be found at https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/. That will get you to the information that is updated quite regularly, and you can look back at all of the updates that have happened since the shutdown if you care to do so.

Today we're going to talk about the Ticket to Work. We're going to talk about Social Security's Ticket Program, how that Ticket Program is going to support you on your journey to work and help you succeed before we say goodbye. We're not willing to let you go until you are successfully a worker with a disability.

We have two disability programs that Social Security administers. They're the SSDI, or Social Security Disability Insurance Program, and the SSI, or Supplemental Security Income Program. Why I'm pointing this out is that they are two very different programs, and it's very important for you to be aware of which program is providing you with benefits so that the people you are asking questions of know how to respond.

The Insurance Program is just that; it's insurance. You pay in through your FICA taxes and earn credits in order to gain coverage for disability and retirement focuses. Supplemental Security Income is a financially-based program. It's essentially a Federal Welfare program that's going to be much more impacted by other types of income and any significant resources. Both programs have work incentives. Some of those sound alike but are used very differently in each program; and before you ask somebody a question, if you are sure about which benefit you're receiving you will get the right answers. We don't want anybody to be confused by getting SSI information if you're an SSDI recipient.

So that's the first thing to figure out. You can do that by setting up a "my Social Security account." You can do that by looking at a notice that you might have received from Social Security. All of them say right across the top what benefit you have. 

There is the "my Social Security account." I have one. I check it every year when they tell me that it's time to check your account. I want to make sure that my wages are in there appropriately, but it also gives me information as to what might happen today if I retire; what might happen today if I become disabled, what my benefit would be, and who else in my household might receive benefits – great information to have. You do need some information of your own before you can set this account up; but, please, if you haven't, give it a shot. There's a lot of valuable information that you can use for your daily life as well as for this return to work.

So starting the journey – how do we make a decision about returning to work?

We don't make a decision; you do. We will give you information – what's going to happen to your benefits, how much better off you'll be at the end of each month, what kind of work incentives you can utilize and when. Then, you make the decision; is this a good fit for you? Only you're capable of making this decision for yourself. I would certainly encourage you to make that decision in favor of work. There's a lot more than just a paycheck.

So why choose work?

Earning a living through employment is not something everybody can do. Even if you can't earn a living, if we can find something you can sell, we're going to encourage you to do that. We're going to encourage you to use the skills you have to the extent you can to supplement, so you'll still end up with more money. But if you can earn a living and leave the benefits programs and that's a good choice for you, we want to help you make that choice; and we want to help you get the free services and supports that are available to you. I think the vast majority of everybody on the phone will find that work brings much more reward than it does risk. 

It just gets you – I just got a new puppy. I got that new puppy because I work, and I could pay to have that puppy cared for in the manner to which he's become accustomed. That's a bonus of getting a paycheck.

What is this Ticket to Work Program?

It is a program that came about in the year 2000, so it's the new kid on the block essentially. It is free, and it is completely voluntary. It is your choice to use your Ticket to Work. Everybody should be receiving them by mail now. There was a time when they were virtual. But regardless of that, you don't need the document; you just need to make your first contact, and you will be told whether or not there's a ticket out there or whether you've used it in the past and what kind of services you may still get.

We're talking about career development, and that's much more than a job. Sometimes a job is good, but a career can be better. It can be better financially; it can be better self-fulfilling wise. 

We're looking at adults between 18 and 64 – 18 through 64, I should say – who receive a Social Security disability benefit and who want to work. So if you have SSI, if you have SSDI, and you want to work, that's all that's required. That's all that's required.

What kind of services?

Well, a ticket is going to connect you with all kinds of services that we're going to discuss in detail. They're essentially free, and they're employment services. 

I have to stop moving the mouse.

We can help you decide if work is right for you by giving you the facts; giving you our experience' telling you what will happen to your benefits when; how to remedy something that may happen that you're not thrilled about. We can help you do all of that, and we give you that information to help you decide if you want to start this journey. 

To prepare for work:
Do you need some kind of training? 
Do you need some reasonable accommodations? 
 Do you need some durable medical equipment so that you're able to do the job?
We can help you find that job. We know where the industries are in your area; we know who's hiring. Is there a fit? Is there a match here that's worth sending a résumé to? We can give you some interview practice so that you're able to respond appropriately to questions and that you're able to present your own questions during that interview.

We're not done yet. Once you have the job, we're sticking with you until you are successful and tell us that you're okay and you're able to do this on your own now.

Learn more -- What is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program?

In that Weblinks pod, there's a link for more information. You can pretty much write your own ticket, and that's a good feel.

The Help Line is available to answer some basic questions – absolutely no obligation. We're looking to help you on your journey to financial independence. We want this to work for you. If you can get some information over the phone without any obligation, do that. It's safe; it's effective. You can reach that toll-free number between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and the number is 1-866-968-7842. If you use a TTY, it's 1-866-833-2967. Give them a ring.

So who are all these people that I told you were going to give you services? I guess it's time we tell you who they are.

There are some great folks out there; and I know this for a fact because over the years, it's only been getting better. There are several providers. You don't need all of them, but they could all be part of your employment team.  

The employment networks – they were created to do what VR generally does but maybe you don't need as much. Maybe you are ready to work; and you need somebody to help you with a résumé, somebody to explain that five-year period where you weren't working but collecting benefits, and some interview practice. If you need something like that, an EN is perfect for you.

The Workforce Centers are all ENs. These folks have agreements with Social Security to provide you with free services. That's a good deal. 

State Rehab agencies – every state has one, some have two because they have a separate agency to help the blind or visually impaired. If you need to go to school for two years, this is the place to be. If you need durable medical equipment, which tends to be very expensive, this is where you want to be. That doesn't mean you can't use both, and we'll explain that a bit later on.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance, the WIPA programs, that's where your benefits planners are located. Social Security provides benefits planning services through these programs in every state. You want to talk to somebody who's going to say, "Do you know, Veronica, you get a trial work period – nine months long. If you work at the levels you're expecting to make, you will use that between January and September; and then we move into Phase 2." So you will know exactly when things are going to happen to your benefits and the cash that you're receiving.

The last one, Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, called the PABSS Program, this is the legal way. The Protection and Advocacy agencies exist in every state as well; and they can provide you with legal assistance, with help in negotiating reasonable accommodations, anytime there's a barrier to work. That is read broadly as far as I can see. If you're facing eviction, that needs to be fixed, right? You can't work if you're not housed. If you have an employer who says, "No, that reasonable accommodation is too expensive," you can have the PABSS represent you in those discussions with your employer – all great services. As I said, you don't have to take services from everybody; you take what you need, and you might develop into needing some others.

So that EN, the Employment Network, it's a private or public agency that has an agreement with Social Security to provide free employment services to people who have a ticket. Many of you might have a ticket and not even know it, but call the 1-800 Help Line and find out.

SARAH>> Ray, this is Sarah. I apologize for the interruption. I just wanted to address the captioning. 

We are working to get a captioner joining momentarily for everyone in the audience. We apologize for the inconvenience; and we just wanted to make sure that you knew a recording of today's event, as well as a transcript, will be available on the Choose Work website in two weeks. Again, we're working to get the captioner on as soon as possible so you can have captions for today's event; and we apologize.

RAY>> That's okay, thank you, Sarah.

SARAH>> Thanks, Ray, sorry to interrupt you.

RAY>> Not a problem.

Many of the state public workforce systems – they used to be called "job centers" or "one-stops" – through the American Job Centers are workforce ENs now. So they can provide you with employment services as well. That's another great place. The workforce centers are great if you just need to develop a résumé, and they can get you to a computer station to allow you to search for jobs. They have job banks that available – again, no obligation. Just take a look, see what's going on; and when you're ready, they'll help you find that job.

These folks, both sets of employment networks, can help you identify your work goals; again, write and review your résumé; prepare for interviews. They can help you with reasonable accommodation requests as well. They can help you search – how much is this reasonable accommodation actually going to cost? If you know how much it costs and you present that to your employer, I think the employer is going to be surprised. Most accommodations are under $500.

You can also receive benefits planning, benefits, counseling, in a lot of these ENs. Not all of them have planners, but a growing number do; so basically, you get one-stop shopping too. You get your employment services and your benefits plan all in one place, which helps a great deal because the same agency is connected to both sets of information.

State Rehabilitation – this is the big agency that every state has. Again remember, there may be a separate one in your state for blind or visually-impaired folks; but they're going to look at vocational rehabilitation. They're going to look at how to train you to do the job that you had, that you may need to learn to do differently or to train you for something else; and that something else could very well be in the same field but not the same job. 

They're going to provide you with training. They're going to provide you with education. A two-year or a four-year degree is not out of the question with these agencies. So if that's what you need to get yourself to work, we're going to help you get in touch with the VR agency to make that happen; and as a beneficiary with a disability, you're going to immediately become a priority. I'm not saying there's always funding there. Sometimes they run out of funding. We are in June; aren't we? They should be getting more in July, so now is the time to strike. They're not always going to be there to give you 100% of you want, but you still are a priority; and that's important.

Partnership Plus – this was the cat's meow when it happened. It's a great opportunity for all of you. You may need a two-year education. I just told you that the Vocational Rehabilitation agency is the likely place where that's going to happen, but what if you need basic job services – the résumé, the interview process, help locating a job that you're going to be able to succeed in? You need an EN for that.

We can get you both. We can allow you to put your ticket in use with the VR agency; and then when you get your two-year degree, you can assign it to an employment network to help you with employment location and on the job support – again, until you're ready to tell us to go away. This is an extremely wonderful thing. Early in the ticket, it didn't exist. Many states have bought into this, and it provides you with an exceptional benefit of getting the full range of job services.

The WIPA program -- the benefits planners, near and dear to my heart, they provide free benefits counseling to Social Security disability beneficiaries so that you can learn about how work and income is going to affect your SSDI, your SSI, Medicare or Medicaid, and other public benefits. When it comes to public benefits, I love to use the old adage, "Nobody has just one." If we were to plan a return to work for you and not include subsidized housing and now include SNAP benefits that you may receive, we haven't done a full job. So these folks are trained. They're trained by great trainers, and they know how work impacts your portfolio of benefits.

They'll let you know when benefits will disappear, when benefits can come back, what will you have in SNAP benefits after they're reduced because of earnings, so that you'll have a really good picture of what your situation will be once you start working. They're going to dispel all of those myths and talk to you about the benefits of employment. It may be somebody like me telling you about my puppy. It may be somebody like me telling you what I've been able to do and how many people I've met because I work. Those are all good things.

Dispelling the myths – no, you're not going to lose your cash benefits right away. No, your health care is going to last for a very long time; it's not going to terminate. The street speaks very loud; we need to tell you the truth and decide if that ticket's right for you or not – when is it advantageous to do it, when is it not.

Who do they look to serve?

Right now, they're currently serving people who have begun working or are self-employed or have offers pending or are actively interviewing for a job. There's also a special group of people, youth between the ages of 14 and 25, who we want to start working and try to work before they become benefits-dependent.

PABSS – this was my last job before I joined staff at Cornell. That's your legal wing. They're going to do the advocacy. They're going to resolved employment concerns with employers, with Social Security, with the ENs, the State VR agencies, or the WIPA projects. If you need that service, it's there for you. It might help protect your rights on the workplace. You'll know what kinds of questions are inappropriate during an interview. 

How do you request reasonable accommodations in college classes, in training courses, in licensing programs, and on the workplace and addressing disability-based legal issues that are barriers to work? It's a wide variety of services. How do you find them? 
www.choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp -- it's a site I'm on almost every day trying to locate services for people, and all I need is your ZIP Code. All you need is to type your ZIP Code in and pick your service provider. Do you want to know all of them? Then don't pick one. If you want right now a benefits planner, click on WIPA. You'll find out who serves your area – a very user-friendly site.

Okay, Sarah, I think I caught up a little.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you. I have questions for you from the audience, and the first question I have is: "If I participate in the Ticket to Work Program, can I get a job nor; or will I be placed in a position?"

RAY>> No, no, no, you will not be placed in a position. Remember, I told you the decisions were yours. You should be participating in locating those jobs. You should know what they're about. If you don't want to apply for one because you don't think it's your job, don't apply for it. If you are offered a job, it's your decision to take that job or not. By the time you apply and interview and get that job, you should have a sense. The EN should have helped you, the benefits planner; and VR are all helping to make sure that made sense – that it makes sense to apply for this job. But the bottom line -- if you don't want that job, we'll apply for another one.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, the next question I have for you is: "We have some attendees that are new to the Ticket Program. Can you explain what the actual ticket is, and can you tell me how long a ticket is good for?"

RAY>> All right, the document is simply called the "ticket to work," and it lets you know a little bit about how you can find service providers. It's a piece of paper. Frankly, you don't need the piece of paper. Yeah, you can throw it away; you can lose it. All you need to do is call the 1-800 number and see if there is a ticket.

Now, that Ticket Program was created in the year 2000, 1999. It's part of the Social Security Act. It is a program to assist you in finding your job and your career, and we have all of those providers that can help you do that. How long does a ticket last? One ticket per a period of disability – which basically means if I am on disability benefits and something happens to my eligibility and I'm not on benefits, that was one period disability. If I find out four or five years later that I need benefits again, that's a new period of disability – but again, one. 

So if you got that ticket in 2000 when the program started and haven't used it yet, it's still there; and you can still use it, and it's used basically until you start working.

SARAH>> All right, thank you, Ray. I have another question for you: "I had a ticket assigned to an Employment Network, and the Employment Network closed my case. Do I have a deadline to reassign my ticket to another EN? What happens if I don't reassign the ticket to another entity?"

RAY>> That's really a good question. If the EN closed your case, they have taken steps to have that ticket unassigned. You have 90 days from the first date it's unassigned to get another EN to help you. Sounds like three months might be a long time; but remember that you have to talk to the new EN, who is going to ask you why was that case closed. You need to explain that, and you need to negotiate a new plan; and that can take some time, particularly negotiating the new plan. So 90 days, okay – but remember, it's not really a long time.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, next question I have for you is: "Can the Ticket to Work Program help me with obtaining certifications required for the job that I want?"

RAY>> Most certainly – when I mentioned the ENs, VR, those two branches of this family that you're creating can provide you with that. If you want to be a plumber, they'll do whatever they need to get you your State license so that you can plumb. If you want to be a benefits planner, those agencies can help you get trained to do that so that you can be certified or credentialed as a benefits planner; but most certainly, that's well within the realm of services.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you for that. The next question I have for you is: "Does the Ticket to Work Program provide any assistance with college degrees?"

RAY>> Absolutely, absolutely – two years and four years. Now, the Ticket to Work would be using the State Rehab agency mostly likely to get you those services because they tend to be expensive. Now, the question is what is your vocational goal? Did you want to be a teaching assistant? You need a two-year degree. If you want to be a teacher, you need a four-year degree and, in many states, a master's degree. But it is most certainly possible to get that education. You just have to sit down and talk with these agencies or your Employment Network, and it has to be a realistic goal; and we have to consider all of the circumstances and decide, is this a goal that you can achieve? 

I like to use as an example for this very question – if I'm in a wheelchair and I want to be an astronaut is that a goal that I can achieve? Right now, the answer is, "No." Until that space shuttle has an accommodation that is fully accessible, I can't use it. But there may very well be a time when a wheelchair user can become an astronaut. We just want to know before we invest time and money in your progress that there's going to be a payoff at the end, and the biggest payoff is to you.

SARAH>> Thank you, Ray. 

To go off of what Ray said, you can call the Ticket to Work Help Line Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That number is 1-866-968-7842; or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967.

I have another question for you, Ray.

RAY>> Tell me.

SARAH>> Great, it is: "Is there a way I can be reimbursed for my job expenses?"

RAY>> Well, some of them sort of – it's not going to be a direct reimbursement; but some of the job expenses you have that are directly related to your disability and that you pay for, or the amount that you pay for, can be deducted from your income. If you're a Title II beneficiary receiving SSDI and you earn $1,000 a month, we will be able to take off that $50, that $60, so that your countable income becomes $950. I'm just tossing numbers out at you right now.

On the SSI side, your income is going to result in a countable amount that's going to reduce your SSI benefit; but if you have those same types of expenses – they call them impairment-related work expenses or IRWIs – we can use those to deduct from that countable income so that your SSI is a little bit higher than it would otherwise be. So it's not as easy as submitting or receiving and getting your money back, but there is a process to use those expenses in a very valuable way.

SARAH>> All right, great, thank you, Ray. I have another question for you: "If I'm working with an EN that doesn't have a certified benefits counselor on staff, do I have to unassign my ticket to an EN with the EN to work with my local WIPA to receive benefits counseling?"

RAY>> Absolutely not, absolutely not – you can have benefits counseling done because considering work before.  You might want to go to a benefits counselor before you pick an EN and have that benefits counselor say, "Hey, let me know about you so we can find ENs. Rather than just go shopping at the mall, let's find the two or three stores in that mall that will provide you with the services that are right for your disability, right for your age group, right for the job that you want, and narrow that search for you. Benefits planning can be done without any obligation to participate in any of the other programs whatsoever.

You can leave your ticket assigned and simply get a referral from your EN to the local benefits planners, and you don't need to take that ticket with you.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, I have another question from the audience for you: "Can the Ticket to Work Program help me start my own business?"

RAY>> It sure can. Self-employment is a great opportunity for just about everyone, and I think the pandemic has helped expand that real far. Working from a distance is becoming popular, so why can't you start your own business that might be located in your home office? It's a fine thing to do. Again, if you're going to get help, we need to know that the business is feasible. We need to know that you're able to make money doing this where you are. 

I'm thinking about Hawaiian shirts right now for some reason. I live in New Mexico. Could I have a home business that sells Hawaiian shirts in New Mexico? Probably not. If they had a Native American print to them, the answer is, "Yes." So it depends on where you are. We have lots of factors to figure in. But if you've got an idea for a business, the Employment Networks are a great place to help figure out if you're going to end up making money and where your market would be, as well as setting up that business in a forum that Social Security will appreciate as well.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you. I have another question for you: "I would like to try and work, but I am not sure if I can even work a part-time position. Is there assistance to help me find a job for a few hours a week and then increase my time as appropriate?"

RAY>> Yes, there is; and that is the way to do it. That's a great thing. You need to explore your capacity to work. How many hours a week can I function on a job plan? That could be done even with a benefits planner; and just figure out if you work ten hours a week making $15 an hour, what does this look like at the end of the month for your housing, for your SNAP, and for your benefits. You're going to find that it's probably going to be well worth exploring what your capacity is. 

The question is do you want to engage an Employment Network to help you find a part-time job? Employment Networks are available to do that, and the question is are you willing to take a chance and find out? I'm just speaking from my own experience; but a lot of times when people do start working part time and they get out of the house and they're meeting new people and their mind is not focused on their disability but working, you're going to find most people can have a greater capacity than they imagined. But I think you're absolutely right; let's figure this out before I take any definite steps, and go for it. Benefits planners and ENs are going to be your two contacts.

SARAH>> All right, thank you, Ray. The next question I have for you is: "I've heard that I'll lose my benefits right away if I go back to work. I'm afraid that I can't work full-time. Can the Ticket to Work help with that?"

RAY>> Absolutely, the first thing the Ticket to Work is going to help you understand is that both of those notions are very wrong. You will not lose your benefits right away; in fact, some of the work incentives that you'll participate in can protect your benefits from all of the income that you might be earning if you're working part-time. Your health care is going to go on for a very, very, very long time.

In the Medicaid world, we have so many options now that it's almost hard to lose eligibility for some of those programs. On Medicare, the only question we have is are your benefits being withheld to pay those premiums that you need to pay; or are you going to have to write a check? If you have to write a check for those premiums, just know that you're doing pretty well on the workplace. So those are the things that we can help you plan for. When will that happen? We're talking Medicare. We're talking like nine years into the future. So my advice to you is not to worry about that. If you're talking about Medicaid, it depends on what state you're in because it's all different. But most states -- I'd also tell you don't worry about that yet; it's not time. We've got years to go before you need to worry about that. But you need to hear that from somebody. So Employment Networks, again, and the WIPA Program are going to be great places to get that information.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you for that. I have another question from the audience for you: "Can the Ticket to Work Program help me with transportation to a new job?"

RAY>> Absolutely, the Employment Networks, the VR agencies, and some of the work incentives are available. If you're looking for transportation and you're not able to drive, arrangements can be made unless you're really in an isolated part of the country. If you're looking to get a car to go back and forth to work, there are many ways that can be done. The Employment Networks and VR are certainly not going to buy you a car; but maybe if you think you're working at your capacity of 10 hours and find out that it's 15, you've got a little extra money – more than you expected. We can provide you with savings mechanisms that will be protective so they won't affect your benefits so that you can buy your own car.

There's a PASS Plan Social Security has, a plan to achieve self-support. I can't open a plan to buy a car because I can't grow up and be a car. I can grow up to be a teaching assistant who needs a car to go back and forth to work. It may not be your dream car, but it will get you back and forth to work so that someday you may have that dream car – lots of options for that.

SARAH>> All right, thank you, Ray. I have another question for you. It is: "What are my options if the nearest VR provider is 200 miles away?"

RAY>> That's what we look at here in New Mexico. You could be easily 200 miles away from your VR. It depends on what services you want. Certainly, we all know many, many services can be provided virtually. If we didn't believe that before the pandemic, we certainly believe it now. So is VR able to help you via a conference call? That is an option. What do you need?

If you need to go to community college to become a teacher assistant – and I keep using that one, but it works – do you need to meet with your VR provider and travel 400 miles round trip? I would think not. If you have enough information to provide to your provider so that they can get your application approved and do all of that other stuff and then determine that this is the right course for you or an appropriate course for you, then you can go to a community college near your home. 

An EN can also provide these services. If you're 200 miles from your EN, can I teach you how to get a résumé made? Yes. Can I help you with that? Sure. If we're on the computer or even by mail -- mailing things back and forth takes a little longer, but you draft a résumé; I'll be your Employment Network; mail be a copy of it; I'll redraft it, give you a phone call, talk about it, and then you can get your product back to me. There's a lot of things that can be done. 
Is it necessary for you to travel the 200 miles? It might be once. I don't know how many services are actually provided by the Vocational Rehabilitation staff, unless it's some kind of testing; but they're likely to be referring you out for educational services, for local training services, to someplace in your area. So I think you're going to be the magnet to these services, and we can come to you virtually in order to get you set up to get your services locally. I don't think that's beyond the pale at all.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you for the thorough answers to the questions sent in by our participants. We do have more questions for you, which we will address later in the webinar. But we're going to stop; and I'm going to turn it back to you, Ray, so you can share ways of managing stress and some great stories with us. Thank you.

RAY>> All right, I'm ready to take a break myself. Those were some tough questions. So let's talk about managing stress. I could tell you some stories right now.

Managing stress during the job search and on the job – two very different stresses and two very different kinds of stress, and the remedies are going to be different. We have to first consider mental health and what that is, and that's a lot of things. You do not need a diagnosis to experience anxiety, stress, to have a bad moment in your life so that your social wellbeing is not up to par. We all have that; so we need to know that mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing.

I'm hearing a lot on the news now about loneliness and that that was a major hit during the pandemic, and it affects people in a lot of ways. Now the world's open. I'll tell you a story I had last weekend. I forgot my mask in my car. I am fully vaccinated, but I was going into a grocery store. The grocery store sign said, "If you're fully vaccinated, we don't require that you wear a mask." Well, I was a little concerned; but I didn't want to walk all the way back to my car, and I was freaking out. It just felt unnatural to be in a grocery store without a mask; and I can assure you that this week when I go to the grocery store, I will remember my mask because it caused me a lot of anxiety and not 100% social wellbeing. I didn't feel safe. I didn't feel right.

I never experienced that before. The pandemic caused that. It's going to affect how I thought, how I felt, and how I acted. I did turn the cart around and not go down a busy aisle. I'll come back and get the milk. That's all related to what's going on around us. 

It also helps determine how we handle stress, how we relate to others, and how we make choices. I'll be very frank with you. Stress has caused me to make a bad choice, and I need to do better -- making a better choice and so on. So all of these things have to be considered not only for people who have a diagnosis. Everybody has mental health. Everybody needs to strive for that mental health, and we're all going to be affected differently. So stress is affecting everybody; that's for sure. If you haven't felt stress over the last 15 months, I don't know who you are; but maybe I want some of your stuff.

It can affect your mood, increase symptoms of any other mental illness that you may have, and sometimes physical illness. Anxiety, depression, PTSD – those are all things that are happening to people right now. Depression – maybe I'm not ready to go out; and none of my friends understand why I won't go to dinner with them on Friday. They may be ready; I'm not; and they're not making me feel real good about it. So that's a real thing that's going on.

Anxiety – what if I go into that restaurant and I don't have a mask on? I'm concerned about that. I like going out to dinner. I missed it for a long time, and I've slowly started to do it again. It took me a while – probably longer than most people who were told, "You can go out without a mask."

Knowing the potential signs of stress – sleeplessness, lack of focus – that can all help you manage. If you see it coming – I know that if I haven't slept for three days, there's something out there that's bothering me; and I just need to find it and address it. Managing the stress – because I don't think we can make it all go away – is going to reduce the negative consequences of that stress. 

Here's my favorite title slide: "Work is more than a job." Does work help me manage my stress? As much as it caused me my stress, it does help me manage it. It certainly helps me manage my personal stress because I'm focused on work. When I lose that focus, something's wrong. I've got to find out what it is to regain my focus. But work does give you a sense of purpose. I look forward to this hour-and-a-half I get to spend with you. Every month I look forward to it because it's a way for me to do work but escape, and not solve people's problems but just give them good options right now. If one of you goes to work, I'm happy.

Setting a goal such as earning a promotion, developing new skills – that's a great one. For anybody who's looking for an education, you're going to be developing new skills and shorter skills along the way. If you don't know how to use a computer, let me tell you before you go to school, you will know how to use one and most certainly when you come out of school. 

So look at those and mark down your successes. Keep a journal. It helps; it really does because when you realize how much you've done to get to your goal but are depressed about still being in the same situation – I can't do this anymore – look at what you've done. You've probably succeeded at several things and have lots of new skills already, and maybe it's too late to stop. Work is investing in you personally and your future. It's all work. That's what our society is based upon; and sometimes if you can't work, that's only making everything start churning, right?

You might get a little depressed because you don't have enough money to meet all your bills; and it's getting darker, and it's getting darker. But if you do focus on getting the skills to go to work, you're looking at self-investment. That's a great thing.

I want you to check out the Ticket to Work Blog:
Job Searching with a Mental Condition
Identifying Mental Health-Friendly Employers

Your ENs should be able to help you with some of that too. Let's find the employers that we know work very well with mental health issues, with developmental issues, with depression. That could affect somebody with a physical disability as well. So let's start doing that – putting lists together and checking things off. Every time you check something off – I make a list every morning. If I check something off, okay, let's get on to the next thing. At the end of the day if I don't know what I did – and sometimes I work all day and don't know what I did, but I see there are four things checked off; that helps – that helps.

Tips for managing your stress – here we go again, make a plan. Breaking up tasks, creating to-do lists – it can make everything less overwhelming. Again, let's go to the grocery store again. I go to the grocery store; I have a list. I very rarely deviate from the list; and when I know I have everything on the list, I have succeeded in that task -- the more coupons, the better.

Every day, make a list. What are you going to do today? Is this going to be the day you talk to a WIPA Program? Is this going to be the day you look for EN contacts in your area? 

Take care of yourself – food, nutrition here. Food is an amazingly powerful drug; and if you're not eating right, it's amazing what it does to you – what it does to your mental health and your physical health. If you're eating a lot and it's not the right food, it's still going to upset everything. Pay attention to nutrition. Medication – does your medication prevent you from sleeping, or does it make you tired? If you makes you tired, you don't want that to be the first thing you take in the morning because it's going to inhibit your ability to work. If it keeps you up -- if it makes you anxious or too much energy – don't take it before you go to bed. That's a simple call to the doctor nowadays or a telemed service to say, "When can I take these drugs so they don't interfere with my daily living?" 

Ask for help. Things don't always go as planned, period. That's what you need to depend on. They don't always go as planned. Your car breaks down. I live in rural Santa Fe. That means 20 miles to the dealer where I bought my car. How do I get a car that doesn't work 20 miles away so it can be fixed? That's going to cause me a lot of stress, but then I have to take a very deep breath and plan it. And, yes, some other things might fall off my list that day; but I need the car. So just be adaptable and understand that almost nothing is going to happen that you can't handle. You just have to put a plan in place, so it's making another list and checking the boxes off when you're finished with it.

Now we've got a job. There's all kinds of stress that comes with a job. There's a lot of stress that comes with going into work for the first day:
Are you going to like this job?
Are you going to like the people?
Are you going to be able to do this job the way you're expected to?
What happens if I have to ask for reasonable accommodations?

Well, that's too much to think about when you're walking in the door the first day. So let's keep ten little steps in mind for staying on track:

Dedicated workspace – do you have one on the job? Is it conducive to work? These open offices you see on TV and in sitcoms, I can't function like that. I'm used to working with walls. I'm used to being able to close my door. I would just not get anything done. If Sarah and I would be working at desks across from each other, we'd be talking all day; nothing would happen. Dedicated space is what I need, particularly because I work at home. 

If you're staring your own business from home, make sure you have dedicated workspace. It can't be a corner in your living room; the TV is too much of a temptation. And sure you have all the important stuff within reach. Most of it, I can reach. I may have to get up to walk across to the file cabinets every once in a while, but it's all in my office.

What are my career goals? Right now, I'm on the downhill side of my career. My goal right now is to work until I can make sure that my little program is going to be in good hands when I leave and to train that person to run my program, and then I'm out of here.

Create a schedule, very important -- whether it's an electronic calendar, which I have to use, or whether it's my Sierra Club desk calendar, which I still use and I've used since I started practicing law 55 years ago. It works for me.

Set daily goals – that's my to-do list; I have it written down so I can check it off. I can't delete it from my electronic calendar, so I look. Today I had a class at 11:00 a.m. and the WISE event at 12:30 p.m. If you're in Eastern Time, you know I'm talking a different time zone. I also have my to-do list, three things I have to do. There's only one left; that's a good sign. That's a good sign. 

List and research companies that align with your goals – you can do that. Every company has a Home Page. Even small restaurants/small businesses have Home Pages; and their mission is there, what types of people work there, and what are the goals of this company. If that aligns with your feelings and your goals, that's a hint that this might be a good place to try. This might be a good place to try. What happens if it's not, and you find out something's wrong? Oh well, that one didn't work out; let's do another one tomorrow. That's all it takes.

Make a list of potential contacts. You're going to have résumés; you're going to have to have references. So what would I do? If I wanted to do this webinar on a full-time basis, I have contacts. I've got Sarah there. I've got Patricia. I could use them as contacts to find out who I should contact to get this job full-time.

Apply for the positions – we've got to want to know a lot about the company, a lot about the types of people. Am I going to work in a law firm where they required me to wear a suit and tie every day? That's not for me. That's not for me; it never was because of the practices that I worked in. We were able to wear jeans if we needed to see a client. I'm not into wearing suits.

Track the jobs you apply for. If you do that by making a list, say, "I went to this interview on the 23rd of June. They called me for a second interview on the 24th, and now I'm waiting. You're waiting a few weeks. You're going to have three or four of those. If none of those three or four pan out, you've got number five; and you can't say, "I failed; I failed; I failed." You have to say, "I made progress; I made progress; I made progress," because my guess is that if you've got three that didn't work out, you've got one that didn't work out because you chose not to do that.

Set weekly and monthly goals, and keep track because that keeps you motivated. During the pandemic, I had COVID 19 right around my waist. I said, "We have to do better." We started eating better, and every Friday I stepped on the scale and watched my weight go down and set a goal for the next week. That kept me motivated. Finding a job, taking steps to work is nothing different; it's as simple as that.

Consult with an EN. You can always do that. You may not have to assign your ticket right away. They'll talk to you because they want to get to know you too. So do those things, simple little things – as easy as going to the grocery store with a list. Let's find a job with a list.

How about ways to reduce stress at work? Do you need a white noise machine or how about some music? If I wasn't on this webinar with you, my radio would be on. Do I know what songs are playing? Probably not, but it's very awkward for me to sit here in silence working because I've always had a radio in my office; and that's not a big deal, particularly if you have your own office. It would be if I were working in an open environment.

What about uninterrupted work time? There are times when that is critical for any job. Set aside, and this goes even more for folks who want to work at home or start your own business at home. My office is sacred to my job. It's not sacred to my life. When I'm finished, I'm going to walk out of this office and shut my door. I work in here. If that door is closed, everybody knows not to bother me. If I need to set aside time on a Saturday or a Sunday, I do that; and I tell everybody, "I need to do three hours of work. Just leave me alone for three hours."

Increase your natural lighting. Natural lighting is really, really helpful – really, really helpful – and I know everybody's going to go out of their house and just look up at the sun, and it just feels so good. That's real. That's really a physical and an emotional feeling. Open the windows if you can. When I was working in Boston, I opened the windows; but between the police and fire engines floating by, you just couldn't do anything because of the sirens. But I always kept my shades up. I'm in my home office now, and I have three windows. One is almost the full wall. The shades are up. The sun is shining in here. It feels better.

Divide your assignments into smaller sections. You just can't put a week on your shoulders. Five days, eight hours a day – I can't wear that all at once; but I can break it up -- my class today, my WISE event today. That's a great thing. It's more like setting appointments for yourself, but I know what I need to do; and I know when I check the class off, it's done. I've made progress. I know when I finish the WISE event and I check it off today, I know it's done. Hopefully it was done well, but that's really up to you, right?

How about modifications, sometimes called reasonable – did I miss something, Sarah? There we go!

All right, well, we're going to talk about reducing stress by a reasonable accommodation. If I have an anxiety problem -- and I am sometimes get paralyzed by that. We've all had those moments where, oh my god, I'm unable to move. I'm unable to do anything. Maybe when I have those moments, I can talk to my boss about letting me take 15 or 20 minutes in silence, in silence. Maybe I need to put the shades down. That's not that much time. It's a very reasonable thing; and if I can think my way and give myself enough encouragement to take the first step, I know those dominoes are going to start falling. It works! Just take a timeout.

JAN, Job Accommodation Network – fabulous resources for finding out what is a reasonable accommodation, what is one that you might benefit by and how much does it cost? Again, reasonable accommodations tend to chill your employer because they've got to think, "How much money do I have to spend now?" Most of them are under $500, and that's a very good point that employers may not know. www.askjan.org, great resource, totally confidential. I use it for my clients. I haven't had to use it for myself; but if I did need reasonable accommodations, I would ask JAN; so I think you should too.

Now we have some success stories. I love sharing these.

Hazel – she was experiencing sudden mood swings, and she had difficulty controlling her emotions. Hazel was diagnosed with multiple conditions – borderline personality disorder, depression, generalized anxiety, a substance abuse disorder, and an alcohol abuse disorder. She entered drug and rehab treatment and started receiving SSDI, and she was able to focus on her health. It does buy you some time to focus on you.

Hazel began to volunteer at work but had some concerns about how her disabilities may interfere with work after her earnings put a stop to SSDI and Medicare. Those are very valid questions, very valid questions. We had answers for Hazel. Fortunately, she sought those answers out. She connected with an Employment Network through the Ticket to Work Program, and her benefits counselor at the Employment Network helped her understand how working would impact her benefits. They weren't going to go away right away. It's going to last a long time and take a lot of work to have something happen to those benefits.

What about the work incentives? 

We haven't been talking about it this time, but we do talk about them at times. The work incentives are marvelous, also extending your time to get your capacity determined and get your work shoes under your feet and you're ready to leave. That's when it likely happens, and you can actually plan for that to happen. You can start part-time, transition to full-time, if that's what your ability is, and do that over a long enough period so that the benefits are decreasing and your income is increasing. When you're finished and you say goodbye to us, you've got more money and a job. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that at all. That's Hazel.

Now we have Jason. Jason was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and fatigue. Jason looked for structure and productivity at the local VR agency, where he was introduced to the Ticket to Work Program. With help from the Ticket to Work service provider, he received career counseling; education and training; help with interviewing and writing résumés and job leads. He eventually developed an Individualized Plan for Employment – all good tools, and it got him where he wanted to go. He was offered a job at Region Five Services, helping adults with developmental disabilities integrate in the community. Good job – I like that job.

Through Partnership Plus, Jason can continue accessing individualized employment services should he need them. I told you; we're not going to go away until you tell us you're all set. What did Jason say about this? "I feel like I'm paying things forward. I had a support system that helped me, and I like providing support for others. I guess you never know what your dream job is going to be until you find it, and I really found mine! The Ticket to Work worked for me."

That's a great story. Things like that make my day – when I hear stories from Jason that he took advantage of a program that I truly believe can work and made it work. It's a great success story. If you want to see other success stories, lots of them in there; go to the Weblinks pod under "Success Stories." 

How to get Help for Mental Health – if you are stressed, if you are anxious, if you believe you might be developing PTSD because of this pandemic or you've had some of these problems before and you're ready to reach out for help now, it's easy. All you need to do is ask. You can ask SAMHSA or visit their website at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline. Go on there and find out what kind of services they have to offer. You can be an individual; you can have family members that need to participate in this – mental health or substance disorders. You're going to find the help you need.

You can always call 1-800-662-HELP (or 4357). TTY users: 1-800-487-4889, and that is a National Help Line. It will connect you with services, free of charge, in your area. So you don't have to worry about that 200 miles.

All right, Sarah.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you for giving us some ways to manage stress and of course those great stories. I love those as well.

I have questions from the audience for you. The first one I have is: "What are some tips to achieve better mental health?"

RAY>> Take a deep breath. I think that's the first thing you need to do. Again, make lists. I know you've heard that over and over and over again.  That is going to give you a sense of moving forward and not sitting still, and I think that's a very good thing.

If somebody does have a mental health issue, you have to determine is it being exacerbated because you're sitting at home isolated and doing nothing, and would a job help? It does as far as I'm concerned. It gets you away from some of the issues for a while. You focus on something else; and potentially, if you're making progress at work, you're moving forward again. Anything that gets you into forward motion is going to be really good.

If you're working with an EN now, you're working with a benefits planner or a State VR agency, talk to them. They'll know where the services are in your area that can help you, and these folks call job coaches that might give you – they're mostly known for being on the job with you to guide you for a while so that you can begin working independently.

They also do a lot of front work. How do you begin making this? How do you see forward progress in some aspects of your life that can then overflow into all of the others?

So reach out; there's no harm in asking. There's no shame in asking either. We all need help at some point. 

SARAH>> All right, Ray, thank you. The next question I have for you is a two-part question. The first part is: "What are some of the signs of stress?" The second part is, "What do I do next if I experience some of those signs?"

RAY>> Well, that’s a good question. Signs of stress can manifest in many, many, many ways – rapid breathing, sweating, blurry vision, all of that. That's extreme stress. But little things like how many times have you walked out to drive to the corner store and not brought your keys with you? And what do you respond to? I know how I respond. I usually get really, really ticked off and walk back into the house and grab my keys; and everybody knows, "Leave him alone." Do you have people around you that say, "Just leave him alone"?

If you're on the workplace, if you're working with a team, it's real easy to have stress affect everybody around you. And if you're not doing your tasks to keep that team moving forward, other people may be reacting. You may not feel the stress yet, but it's there – so lots of things.

So what to do? Again, I seriously mean take a deep breath. Take ten minutes away to sit yourself down to think: What caused this? How can I avoid that cause in the future? What steps do I need to do – what first step do I need to take to get out of this? If it's stress that's preventing you from performing on the job, maybe the first thing you need to do is focus on getting something on the job done and keep moving forward. Keep moving forward. 

There are lots of things, and there are lots of things you can do – deep breathing exercises. Some people meditate, and it works. It doesn't work for me; I can't sit still at ll. But I do deep breathing exercises. I even engage in purposeful relaxation. I'm going to find a place – my lunch hour, my morning break – and I'm going to go outside to the park, sit under a tree, and just sit there and think. Maybe think about nothing, but all of that works; and that's going to push you to the next step but aren't reactions and what we need to do. You may need to reach out for professional help – again, no share in that. But I think you should try all of these little, stupid things – a million little things – that you can do on your own just to make yourself feel better in that moment so you can get to the next one.

SARAH>> All right, Ray, I have one final question for the day for you: "I know that you said that stress can affect everyone around you, but can stress affect physical health as well?"

RAY>> Absolutely, you know what I do when I'm stress out? I eat, and I eat everything. There's no need for a bowl when you have a box of ice cream in front of you, and that's how I react to stress; and it does affect my physical health. If I am feeling bloated, if I'm feeling like I'm gaining weight, it stops me from exercising; and it's a vicious circle. Things start spiraling downward' and then I really have to kick myself and say, "Let's put a plan together. What am I going to do? I'm going to walk the dogs twice; I'm going to watch what I eat; and I'm going to get on the scale every day." That's going to help me.

But it does – if I didn't respond, it would affect my physical health. I have a blood pressure issue. If I'm not moving in a productive way to exercise, if I'm not taking steps to eliminate stress that may be impacting me and the others around me, I'm only going to be worse. So you need to be cognizant of your body. My doctor once told me I was well in tune with my body, and I think that's what we all have to be – well in tune. So that if something's not right, we can fix it before I need a doctor; and that's what we need to do. Think about it. Take an inventory of your body. Take an inventory of what might be wrong, what doesn't feel right. Figure out why.

My stomach doesn't feel right. It's probably because I ate a pint of ice cream, so we're going to have to check that at the door; and that's a big sacrifice for me. I love my ice cream. But, yeah, it affects you physically. It may have physical affects and no emotional effects.

SARAH>> Thanks, Ray, that's great advice. That's perfect; that's advice I could use myself. We are unfortunately out of time for questions for today's webinar. Ray, I want to thank you again for answering all the questions so thoroughly.

And the participants of course for sending in all of your questions. They were great, and we appreciate your participation.

Ray, have a good day and thanks again for being with us.

RAY>> Thank you, it's always wonderful, Sarah.

SARAH>> Of course.

All right, if you would like to know more about our monthly WISE webinars, we encourage you to subscribe in order to find out about our upcoming topics and be amongst the first to register. To learn so much more about the Ticket Program, employment, service providers, and other topics, please subscribe to the Choose Work Blog. You will get weekly updates sent directly to your Inbox.

Bot of these links can be found in the Weblinks pod and are under "WISE Webinar Subscriptions" and "Choose Work Blog Subscription." 

Social Security's Ticket to Work Program has a number of service providers and other resources ready to help you get started. To get a list of providers in your area or to get answers to questions that you may have about the Ticket Program and other work incentives, you can contact the Ticket to Work Program at 1-866-968-7842 for the Ticket to Work Help Line; or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. And that's Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also visit the Ticket to Work website at www.choosework.ssa.gov at any time. You can also find us on social media or subscribe to the blog and e-mail updates by visiting www.choosework.ssa.gov/contact/index.html, and this link appears in the Weblinks pod under "Ticket to Work Contact Information."

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Please join us for the next WISE webinar, "Reasonable Accommodations and the Path to Employment," which will be held on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration is open, and we look forward to having you attend. You can register online at www.choosework.ssa.gov/wise; or you can call 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866, 833-2967.

Your feedback is very important to us. It helps us plan for future webinars. So please take a moment and provide your feedback and tell us what you thought about today's webinar by taking our survey. To take the survey, you can follow the link that will pop up after the webinar; or visit the Ticket to Work website to complete the survey. It can also be found in the Weblinks pod. 

I want to thank you again for attending today to learn about the Ticket to Work Program. Please take this opportunity to reach out to any of the many resources that were discussed today and take the next step on your career path.

This concludes today's webinar. Have a wonderful evening. Thank you.