Sheri Abrams will be speaking to the Family Focus Group at the Woodburn Center for Community Mental Health on June 29 at 7:00 PM. She will be speaking on how to receive Social Security Disability Benefits. The Woodburn Center is located at 3340 Woodburn Road, Annandale, Virginia 22003.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sheri R. Abrams receives 2010 Best of Fairfax Award

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Honors the Achievement

NEW YORK, NY, June 13, 2010 — Sheri R. Abrams has been selected for the 2010 Best of Fairfax Award in the Local Business category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2010 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@us-ca.org
URL: http://www.us-ca.org

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If you are a veteran who is disabled, and served on active duty before or after September 11, 2001 you may be able to receive a free Segway that is custom designed for your needs.

In order to qualify for a free Segway, you must have incurred an illness or injury resulting in permanent disability and difficulty walking as a result of one of the following:

Armed Conflict
Hazardous Service
Conditions Simulating War
Instrumentality of War
Combat Operation
Combat Zone

This program is sponsored by the Disability Rights Advocates for Technology, (DRAFT), which is made up of people with disabilities that refuse to be defined by their disability and have a passion for participating in life’s activities. They provide advocacy as well as education services as an advocate for the adoption of Universally Designed Technology Solutions. As part of their mission, they provide Segways for disabled veterans at no charge.

To date Segs4Vets has awarded more than 250 Segways to Veterans who were severely injured while serving our nation in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Please visit http://www.segs4vets.com for more information and to apply.

The government is mailing $250 checks this week to seniors and the disabled who fall into the gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. The first checks will be sent June 10, three weeks earlier than scheduled, to about 80,000 people. The rebates are the first step in closing the Medicare “donut hole.” The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that about 4 million seniors will get the rebates in 2010. These payments are part of the new health care reform law.

Seniors and the disabled on Medicare get stuck in the donut hole if their prescription drugs cost too much to be paid for through basic Medicare coverage, but aren’t expensive enough to qualify for catastrophic coverage.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will send checks to anyone who is eligible for Social Security Disability benefits or Social Security Retirement Benefits and is living abroad. However, there are a few countries where the SSA is not allowed to send checks. If a person eligible for benefits moves to Cuba or North Korea they cannot receive any checks while they are in either country, but they can get any withheld checks if they go to a country where paychecks can be sent.

In addition, the SSA generally does not send Social Security checks to Cambodia, Vietnam, or areas that were in the former Soviet Union (other than Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia), but those eligible for benefits may be able to apply for an exception. In such cases, those eligible for benefits may have to agree to certain conditions, such as appearing in person at the U.S. embassy each month, to receive benefits.

The rules for receiving Social Security disability or retirement overseas do not apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Most recipients of SSI are not entitled to benefits outside the United States. SSI benefits will stop if a recipient is outside the United States for more than 30 days, and benefits won’t start up again until the recipient is back in the country for at least 30 days. However, there are exceptions for dependent children of military personnel and students studying abroad.

Determining whether drug or alcohol abuse will affect a claimant’s eligibility for Social Security Disability benefits depends on materiality. If drug or alcohol abuse is found to be material to your disability you will not be able to win a case for Social Security Disability benefits. For example, if you were to apply for Social Security Disability benefits based on liver dysfunction and hepatitis, but you also have a history of alcohol abuse, some of it recent. If your liver damage is so pronounced that ceasing alcohol use completely would make no difference to your medical condition, then your alcohol abuse would be immaterial to your condition and you would probably win your case for Social Security Disability benefits. Conversely, if ceasing alcohol use would result in medical improvement, then it is material to your disability and your claim for Social Security Disability would likely be denied. Simply put, Social Security will not pay Social Security Disability benefits to claimants whose disabling conditions are exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse.

Claimants who have a history of drug or alcohol abuse but are currently not using these substances should carefully review their medical records. Doctors will often indicate “possible use” in their treatment notes. Such indications, proven or not, can have a damaging effect on your Social Security Disability case. Claimants who suffer from a mental disability should especially be careful, as mental disability cases are more likely to be denied when substance abuse is involved.

While each case is unique, it is true an applicant has a better chance of obtaining Social Security Disability benefits if they are sober and remain sober.