Stay Steady with SSI and SSDI

  • Made By CUP With:
  • Community Partners
  • Tags:
  • Disability,
  • Health,
  • Mental Health,
  • Money

Connecting formerly incarcerated people with mental and physical health needs to financial support through social security programs.

Mental Health Project staff, Zuly Alvarado, explains the complicated process of applying for SSI and SSI.

Due to discrimination, many formerly incarcerated people struggle with financial stability. It’s even harder if they have a mental or physical health condition that prevents them from working. While there are government programs that can help, the application process is long and confusing. Even if someone has gotten approved in the past, payments can be interrupted by incarceration.

Social security programs, like SSI and SSDI, improve mental health and wellbeing of people with mental health needs by providing access to financial support and health care. For formerly incarcerated people with disabilities, financial stability plays an important role in disrupting cycles of hospitalization, homelessness, and incarceration. By breaking down how to apply for these programs, more formerly incarcerated people with disabilities can be empowered to seek financial support and stability.

That’s why The Mental Health Project of the Urban Justice Center collaborated with CUP and designers 13 milliseconds to create Stay Steady with SSI and SSDI, an English and Spanish booklet that explains how to apply for these programs and what to expect throughout the process. The booklet also includes information about how to appeal if your application is denied.

The Mental Health Project is sharing the booklet within their network of clients and partner organizations. Thanks to the generous support of Wellcome's Mindscapes Program, CUP has been able to distribute over 24,500 copies to 14 organizations across New York City that work with formerly incarcerated people including Queens Legal Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, NYC Health and Hospitals, and Empower, Assist and Care Community Re-entry Assistance Networks.

Community members share their experience of applying for SSI and SSDI with CUP staff Agustín and Genea, and designers Sharon Bach and François Hughye of 13 milliseconds. Community members talked about getting support from family and friends to complete the application requirements. In response, the characters in the booklet have speech bubbles that tell the reader when they might need this extra support.
Mental Health Project staff, Ann Biddle, gives feedback to the team on a draft of the design. The process for applying for SSI is often the same as applying for SSDI, so the designers proposed showing each step as a stepping stone along a path that splits when the processes are different. Community members said it was helpful to see the process laid out this way, and compared it to a highway with clear road signs.

Check out the Project

The project helps readers see the process of applying for SSI and SSDI from start to finish, and know what to expect—and where they can get support—every step of the way. The cover introduces a character following the steps to apply for SSI and SSDI. The booklet includes information about the different ways to apply and the documents that are required.

Buy an English Copy

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Download an English Copy

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Buy a Spanish Copy

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Download a Spanish Copy

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Project Collaborators

Community Partner

The Mental Health Project of the Urban Justice Center

Ann Biddle
Zuly Alvarado

Designers

13 milliseconds

Sharon Bach
François Huyghe


Special Thanks

Dennis Adams, Gregory Melton, Marco Barrios (community members) and to the team of translators at Translingua Associates Inc (translators).

Product Details

5.5″ x 8.5″ color booklet

Funding Support

Support for this project was provided by Wellcome. It is part of Mindscapes, Wellcome’s international cultural program about mental health.