A Determined Self-Advocate

Who says nothing ever changes? Marilyn Martinez* doesn't believe it. She's on a letter-writing campaign to change the way Social Security benefits are reduced for married couples who are disabled. As she so eloquently put it:

My name is Marilyn Martinez and I am writing to you because there needs to be a change in the system that assists people with developmental disabilities. I am a young lady with a developmental disability and Cerebral Palsy. One of my future plans is to be married, but one of the main reasons why I am not married now is my partner, who also has a developmental disability, and I both receive Social Security benefits in order to pay our rent and other bills. But, for instance, if we should decide to get married, one of us will lose the benefits we depend on. Therefore, we would no longer be able to pay our rent and our dream of owning our own home is completely out of the question.

My complaint is that we, as persons with developmental disabilities, are encouraged to become as independent as possible…but, when we do this, the U.S. government (penalizes) us for our accomplishments. We would like our benefits to stay intact and that our dreams of being married, owning our own home, and becoming responsible citizens to contribute to the community we love, will become a reality without jeopardizing our benefits by the red tape of bureaucracy…

So far, Marilyn has written to 7 different politicians and has received replies from several of them. She vows to keep writing until a solution is found to her concerns.

*Marilyn Martinez gave P&A permission to use her name.