in some states if you work two jobs even if they’re both only 5 hours a week at minimum wage you don’t qualify for snap benefits [food card] because you have “multiple sources of income.” tell me again how these laws are meant to make sure only real poor people get benefits …
Not in the same vein but you can’t qualify for any financial aid for college if you take less than 6 hours credit. This includes subsidized loans….so if you work 2 or more jobs and try to take 1 class at a time; you better be ready to pay out of pocket. Access to college for all is a joke, federal regulations employ classist tactics to keep the poor poor.
And just to combine the two, if you’re a full-time college student you can’t get snap benefits unless you also work over 20 hours a week. Which every kind of student adviser tells you not to do if you want to succeed in school. So.
Not only can you not get financial aid for less than 6 credit hours, if you take more than that you can’t get disability because, and I quote from my experience, “if you can sit in a classroom, you can have a job.” Regardless of your health apparently.
in regards to disability, in the US that is not the case. if someone has told you that they are lying. it is possible to be a full time student and receive SSI (and I assume you could do the same and get SSDI). unless the rules are different in VT (where I live) you can be a full time student and be on disability. it is possible, however, for SSA asshats to tell you that you aren’t disabled because you can manage being a full time student and reject your disability application, in which case I would look into appealing the decision. people have a much higher success rate on appeals than they do the first go around.
the system is designed to help as few people as possible, and it make it so confusing that half the people eligible for benefits don’t know that they qualify. do not take any one person’s word for it (even if they work for the government). do your own research and know your rights.
disability secrets is a really great website with a huge amount of information on different types of benefits, applying for disability, appealing rejections, and keeping your benefits.
other links about food stamps/benefits:
- gov site listing current income rules for SNAP
- massachusetts food stamp advocacy guide (also has info on other programs)
- benefits programs in vermont
- or search “[your current state] SNAP eligibility”
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