On Thursday January 20th "Faces of Homelessness" Speakers' Bureau-Baltimore member Mark Schumann participated in a briefing to the Maryland State Senate. Organized and lead by the Maryland Alliance for the Poor, the panel of 6 advocates included both social service providers and recipients presenting to the Senate the value of a number of social service programs in improving the lives of low-income Marylanders. Mark spoke specifically on the benefits of the Temporary Disability Assistance Program (TDAP) in helping him pay for essentials such as medication, hygiene items, and food.
On TDAP a person with a disability, little to no income, and who is unable to work can receive $185/month for a short period of time. Once the recipient starts to receive SSI or SSDI from the federal government, then the state is paid back by the federal government for the TDAP money given to the individual.
Thanks to the hard work of many advocates, including a number of the members of our Speakers Bureau who have testified in Annapolis, this program still exists and hopefully will continue to be there to help out our neighbors when life gets tough.
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