Picture this. No electricity. No way to get to the store. Out of medicine. No money for groceries. A stack of bills and letters. Same thing every month. Who can help?

GSI’s Money Management Program is an alternative to guardianship – a way to provide assistance with problems like those listed above before a small crisis becomes a serious ongoing crisis resulting in the need for guardianship. The client receives as much or as little help as he or she needs and participation is voluntary.

In the Representative Payee Program, GSI is appointed as Payee for the client’s government benefit check because a physician or government payee source states the client is incapable of managing money. The client’s monthly check and all bills are delivered to GSI. After bills are paid, money is delivered to the client to be spent as the client wishes. This program is designed for people like Phil and Veronica.

In the Bill Payer Program, the client controls all income and expenses. GSI just helps the client who has any physical difficulties with the bill paying process. This program is designed for people like Bessie.

In the Money Management Education Program clients participate in one-on-one and classroom sessions designed to enable the client to pay bills, shop, bank, and manage money independently. The target audience for this program is persons with mild cognitive disabilities, like Carrie.

CLIENT PROFILES 
Representative Payee client Phil was referred by the Veteran’s Administration homeless shelter. Several years ago, a nursing facility became his Representative Payee while he was in the facility for rehabilitation following surgery. When he left the rehab facility, his benefits stopped because the Social Security Administration had determined that he needed a payee and no one was available to assist. His only relative was a son who lived in Illinois and had minimum contact. With no income, Phil became homeless.

Phil has some hearing impairment and short-term memory loss. He also has high blood pressure and a pacemaker. VA Homeless Services agreed to work with Phil and help him find housing if GSI would become his Representative Payee to ensure the payment of bills. Phil has begun looking at appropriate housing and should be moving into his own apartment soon.

Representative Payee client Veronica had been living with her daughter, Sue. When Veronica broke her leg, it was discovered that she could no longer manage independent living and was in a great deal of debt. She owed phone companies, department stores and credit card companies amounts that she would never be able to pay. Although it cannot be proven, a large part of the debt may be due to exploitation by her children. Like many older adults, Veronica has trouble saying no to her children, even though she cannot afford to give them the money or gifts they request.

One of the first things the GSI case manager did was to set up a bank account on which the daughter was not a co-signer so that bills and payments could be separated. GSI also contacted all creditors, informed them of Veronica’s inability to pay, and stopped future charges in Veronica’s name. As Veronica has become more susceptible to falls, finding appropriate housing has been a challenge. GSI has worked with Veronica to facilitate a number of moves from nursing home to group home to assisted living to supported living. GSI serving as Veronica’s Payee on her Social Security ensures that she has shelter, food and clothing while allowing her the freedom to make some decisions about how her money will be spent.

Bill Payer Program client Bessie lives with a teenage granddaughter. Because of tremors caused by Parkinson, Bessie can no longer hold a pen and write out the checks to pay the bills. The granddaughter is willing to help, but is sacrificing her freedom to have friends and enjoy life as a teenager. GSI assigned a volunteer who visits Bessie every other week to help with bills. He helps her understand medical invoices, bank statements, and other bills. He writes out checks as Bessie directs, and she signs them. He then takes care of addressing the envelopes and seeing that the checks are mailed. Bessie is able to maintain her independence without imposing on her granddaughter.

Money Management Education Program client Carrie was referred to GSI by Tarrant County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR). Carrie lived with her mother and grandmother and had a part-time job at a grocery store. MHMR served as Payee for Carrie’s Social Security. Carrie’s stated goal was to be able to move into her own apartment and manager her own funds.

Carrie possessed minimal math skills, but did not understand how to use a decimal point and had difficulty recognizing numbers above ten when written in longhand. GSI’s Money Management Educator visited Carrie weekly and used workbook exercises to teach Carrie needed money management skills. The educator used flash cards, worksheets and role-playing to teach Carrie the basic skill of adding and subtracting money in a checking account as deposits were made and checks written. Carrie worked hard and eventually progressed to the point that she could assist grocery store customers in making out their checks.

Gradually, MHMR increased Carrie’s allowance, permitting her to manage more and more of her own money. After working with the Money Management Educator for about a year, Carrie became her own Representative Payee, moved into an apartment and even got married. GSI continues to monitor Carrie’s status informally to make sure that she is able to handle new problems as they arise. She continues to do well and is very proud of her accomplishments.