Benefits &Financial
Benefits Navigator: Reaching Economic Independence
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If you are a person with a disability and you want to work, but you need more information about how working will affect your benefits, the Benefits Navigator can help.
The Benefits Navigator is a free service funded by a grant from the Social Security Administration.
Who Is Eligible?
- Adults and teenagers age 14 to 65 with any type of disability who…
- Receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or both, and…
- Are interested in pursuing education or work goals.
Charting the Right Course Benefits Navigator can provide you with information on:
- How your Social Security benefits and/or state benefits would be affected by employment
- Support in using work incentives such as the PASS, the Trial Work Period and Impairment-Related work expenses
- Other programs and services that can help you create a plan for your successful employment transition.
Benefits Navigator Serves the Following GA Counties:
Baldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clark, Clayton, Cobb, Crawford, Crisp, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Daugherty, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Henry, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Laurens, Lee, Oconee, Paulding, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Twiggs, Walton, Washington, Wilkinson
If you live outside of these counties or outside the state of Georgia, Benefits Navigator can direct you to similar programs that serve your area.
Steve’s Story
After a car accident left Steve Sheline paralyzed from the waist down and with limited movement in his arms and hands, he couldn’t return to his job parking cars for an Atlanta restaurant. He wanted to work, but he wasn’t sure how his income would affect his benefits.
“I wanted to pay my own bills and not have to worry about when my wheelchair breaks and how I’m going to pay for my prescriptions,” he says. “I wanted to feel like I was contributing to society, something a lot of people take for granted,” he says. Steve went to college and got a degree in journalism. Today, he is a research associate at the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
“In the long run making the jump back into the workplace was the best decision. My first job gave me confidence as well as solid work experience, which made me eligible for higher paying jobs,” Steve says.
How to Reach the Benefits Navigator
To make an appointment with a benefits counselor in your area, contact:
Benefits Navigator
Shepherd Center
2020 Peachtree Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30309-1465
Toll-free 1-866-772-2726
TTY 404 367-1347
Project Directors
Sally Atwell, MS, CRC, LPC
sally_atwell@shepherd.org
Curtis L. Rodgers, MS, CRC, LPC
curtis_rodgers@shepherd.org
Visit the Benefits Navigator website at www.bpaoga.com.
For more information about the Social Security Administration, visit www.ssa.gov.
This publication is made possible by a grant from the Social Security Administration. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the Social Security Administration. This publication may be freely copied and distributed in its entirety without change to content. 2001 All Rights Reserved.