The Pride 2000 program is designed to help transition consumers from public assistance to social security benefits. Due to the newly adopted time limit of 5 years for public benefits that’s in effect in New York, many consumers are being forced to enter the work force or apply for social security benefits. The welfare centers revise their cases and identify the applicants who present as having a disability. The disabled consumers are then referred to one of six agencies that assess the consumer’s medical or mental health status. If the provider’s medical assessment team agrees about the disability, the consumer is referred to one of the six independent living centers within the five boroughs of metropolitan New York City (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island).

Pride in Harlem

The Pride 2000 program in Harlem Independent Living Center (HILC) consists of about 85 percent Spanish-speaking Latinos with different forms of disabilities. Most of the Latino consumers have many obstacles that stop them from working besides the disability, such as language barriers, lack of skills, lack of education, lack of childcare, and culture shock, if they are recent immigrants. These are some of the reasons why many of our consumers were receiving public assistance to begin with. By the time the consumers are referred to HILC, they are overwhelmed and frustrated with the whole system. Many are afraid now of how they will survive without the financial assistance they have now, and often become more anxious and depressed.

Hispanic and bilingual staff make a difference

At HILC, some of the staff are also Hispanic/Bilingual. The consumers who come through our doors are able to work with someone who understands their language and culture, making the consumer feel more at ease. Part of the Independent Living Center philosophy is to educate the consumer about different systems. By teaching the consumer about the SSI process, the consumer will know what to expect. The staff then does regular follow up with the consumer. Education and follow up has helped us succeed with the consumer and the program. In the month of February we have had 12 consumers report that they were approved for SSI.

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