Office Of Temporary & Disability Assistance

First off, I applied back in APRIL when I quit my job because they were using my disability to get more hours out of me and do things beyond my initial role. When I first applied on the website, I was immediately rejected. No big deal. Then a week later, I got a phone call from someone claiming to be with this office. Side note: I could not find any information on this woman at all online. Then, I had to do more arduous work including rewriting everything I said online initially in my application. This was two months later. They then tell me I need to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist and their approved doctor because my own primary care physician was not enough. The earliest they had available was in August. I wait for August to arrive and I had to spend even more of my savings getting there. They informed me that they do not pay for transportation but will reimburse me. I filled out the reimbursement, which is also by mail, and not an online form or simply an email that I can send receipts to. Fast forward to almost September and I have yet to receive any updates on whether or not I qualify. I should also note that my “case worker” works every other day and does not return voicemails so I have to catch her when I can. This is such a long-drawn out process that is not in any way accessible to people who live with disabilities. This is very obviously done so by design, not by human error. They want you to starve or die by not having access to these resources. Edit: After waiting six months for a decision, they finally sent me a letter that said “I’m not disabled enough to receive benefits”. I wasn’t shocked because their agents feign ignorance or they’re really that ignorant on the ways companies discriminate against disabled people with their job postings. Most people with disabilities cannot drive and nearly every job requires a license. This is just rebranded eugenics.

P-EBT was given out 3 times so far. The first time i called them and spoke to someone, they let me know that they put the PEBT on my daughters father‘s card who does not see my daughter and does not live with my child. I asked the person on the phone if there was anyway they can reverse it they said no I also asked if there was anyway that I can get the PEBT that they accidentally gave my child’s father they said no. So I gave them all the information they needed to not do it again the following year and they gave it to him yet again. The first time was $450 the second time was $1020. I got in contact with a District Attorney where i live who spoke to the supervisor of this department and they said they were not going to make sure that the pebt goes to my daughter the next time they send them out. They lied and sent it to my child’s father again. There suggestion to me every time was to contact my child’s father and get the card from him. SMH it’s so unfair. They made a mistake and there is nothing they can do about it. On 2/12/23 i received a letter from them stating they realized there mistake and they were correcting it. They did. Thank you so much.

Systemic racism is what the office should be called. They discriminate against the people they are supposed to help. I am disabled and have been homeless for the last three years. It seems as thought they have the manual on how to discriminate legally and get away with it. Disabled and homeless during a pandemic, great Job NYS keep up the good work of treating your most vulnerable citizens and keeping them out in the cold. I am no longer homeless, but will not be able to remain that way for long, because this office and local dss (Cortland County) overtly discriminate against the disabled and minorities.

Poor service for Rent Relief, no one knows what going on. They ask you to re upload the same documents. You check the portal and the documents are already uploaded. They tell you to call back, when you do. It’s more of the same thing. We don’t know, we don’t have the information, call back next week! Get better customer service representatives.

Scam. not letting me get health care even though I have RSD