Money
Many victims of Dane County's totalitarian system of control and repression are on SSI and SSDI. They're disabled, and
unable to work because of their disability.
Therefore, they're entitled to receive SSI and SSDI. They're fully entitled to that.
Rather, it was the result of SSI and some changes in insurance funding to hospitals.
Many victims of the Dane County system have lost control of their own finances. The county, through its Protective Payee
Program, handles clients' money for them. Perhaps this seems like a good idea, for people who are vulnerable and gullible.
One would hope that the payee would protect the client from exploitation, right?
Wrong.
Here in Dane County, a "professional" from a community support program has only to tell the Social Security
Administration that the client------or the present payee, if chosen by the client------is "using the money for drugs" and
then the SSA will let the county become representative payee. No input from the client whatsoever. She or he may not even
know anything about it.
From what we have seen over the past fifteen years, it's very clear to us that this seizure of income is one of
the county's primary weapons against clients.
A weapon the county does not hesitate to use when its illegitimately repressive authority is threatened.
Once the county has thus seized control of the client's money, there are so many abuses and violations, it's hard to
even count them all. Here are a few that we've seen firsthand:
Clients are forced to "earn" their own money back by ingesting or being injected with drugs.
Sometimes they have to take drugs in a clinic lobby, in front of whomever happens to be there-----journalists, drug company
sales representatives, visiting mental "health" "professionals"---------in order to get a few dollars of their own money.
An FFPS member had the misfortune of overhearing a conversation between two mental "health" "professionals" one day while
sitting in the waiting area of one of Dane County's community "support" programs.
Two of these "professionals" spent about ten minutes in a very detailed discussion of a client's request for nine dollars
($9) out of her own account. This money already belonged to the client. It was not coming from the
program's coffers in any way.
The client had requested the nine dollars ($9) because a crisis had occurred.
But, the two "professionals" were discussing at length the possibility that the client was "scamming" them "out of" (?)
her own money.
Of course, the FFPS member at first thought they were joking. Obviously these mental "health" "professionals" who
lived in nice homes, had good jobs with full benefits and comfortable salary, wouldn't seriously discuss a
disabled person in such vulgar, disrespectful language.
This FFPS member remembered when he was a kid. It seemed that there was something called noblesse oblige. The idea of
those who are well-off having some respect for the plight of the poor.
As the conversation continued, however, he realized these two "professionals" were completely serious.
"Thereby finding in the lowest depth a deeper still, and proving herself a very great experimental philosopher," as Mr.
Dickens put it, in Oliver Twist. This man felt as if he were back in the 19th century, in Mr. Dickens' London.
Clients are forced to pay rent while homeless.
The "community support programs" serve as a kind of pimp service to sleazy landlords with substandard units. If the
unit isn't safe, sanitary or if the client isn't happy there, that client's only choice is to sleep in the streets or at the
shelter. BUT, the county continues to pay the rent from that client's SSI and SSDI account.
A client may be coerced to sign a lease. It doesn't take much to coerce someone on mind-altering drugs. But, these clients
are also constantly subjected to the threat of the hospital, where they may be raped, tortured or killed.
There doesn't have to be a medical reason for a hospital visit. It's just a punishment, if they don't do as they're told
by staff. As such, it's "part of their treatment". The county does not consider anything done to a client on commitment as
a civil rights violation. It's all "part of the treatment". (For more about this, see the story on the grey background on the front page of this site.) They don't even try to cover the fact that the county has an absolute right to do whatever it wants to the physical and
mental person of the client.
Clients do not receive any interest on their accounts
Ever.
No matter what.
Even if money has accrued on a client's account, she or he is not allowed any interest.
The SSA's own rules require that interest be paid to clients on their payee account.
Some families filed a grievance and wrote letters about this, but nothing was done.
After these families started drawing some attention to the problem, the county started a new rule: No client would
be allowed to accrue income in her/his account. All monies from that month's SSI and SSDI income had to be spent in that month.
This is of course, depriving these clients of the right to ever make a major purchase, like a car or furniture. That is
everyone's right, regardless of disability. It is also another of the Social Security Administration's own rules for protective
payees. But, that doesn't seem to matter, either. We know of families here in Dane County who complained to their federal
legislators and to the Social Security Administration's office in Rockville, MD, about this.
Nothing happened. The SSA didn't even bother to answer or acknowledge their letters.
The county uses clients' money to pay its friends
The county pays its landlord and retail friends before providing for clients' current and reasonably foreseeable needs,
as required by the SSA's own rules for protective payees.
One young woman here in Dane County had four hundred dollars ($400) seized from her county payee account. The payee gave
this money to a local women's shelter where the young woman had slept on the couch for three nights.
The young woman was assaulted at the shelter. That's why she didn't want to stay longer than three days.
The payee took the four hundred dollars ($400) out of her account to pay this shelter ninety (90) days later, after those
few nights the woman had spent there. This is likewise prohibited by the SSA's own rules. A payee is only supposed to pay
for expenses incurred in that month.
Four hundred dollars ($400) was about eighty percent (80%) of that client's monthly income.
In this particular case, of course, the payee had friends at the shelter. No wonder the Dane County mental "health" system
is so wildly popular with landlords and with staff.
A young man could not buy himself a bus pass from his own income.
Then, there was the case of the young man who could not afford to buy a bus pass for the month because his payee had
paid off his K-Mart bill in full, all at once, that month.
He had no transportation of his own, so he was forced to beg in the street for bus fare. Begging is illegal in Madison,
so he could have been detained for that. Had he been "on papers" (i.e., under Chapter 51.20 involuntary outpatient commitment)
at the time, he could have been detained in a psychiatric ward of a hospital.
Clients forced to accept substandard housing.
There is an old building on Williamson Street where a bunch of clients live, each to his own room. They share a bath
and kitchen. Except, there is no stove in the kitchen.
Just a microwave.
There is a free community meal across the street that serves dinner five days of the week. This is where these clients
are forced to eat meals. This program is run by the Catholic Diocese of Madison.
The county pays most of the clients' money to the owner of the old building on Williamson Street where these
clients live. These payments help that landlord pay the mortgage and taxes. A very important consideration for any landlord.
Even more important for a landlord who cannot find tenants on the open market.
The fact that clients have no choice about what to eat isn't supposed to matter.
Clients have to wait in a line outside, no matter how cold or hot it is, in order to get in. If they're not there by
a certain time, they can't get in.
There are social problems at these meals. It can be difficult, threatening and stressful, especially for vulnerable,
sensitive mentally disabled folks.
But, clients in Dane Count do know their place. They know they're not "allowed" to have a meal of their own choosing,
to eat by themselves, at a time of their own choosing, a meal which they purchased with their own money.
If such feeling of wistfulness regarding their own, as contrasted with others', mealtime plight, should come upon them,
they dutifully put it out for the night, as if it were a bedside lamp.
They know they must do this. Although they try to understand, they do not know why, but they also know they cannot ask.
They know their status is a little lower than the housepets of the staff of the mental "health" system. After all, a
housepet gets to eat meals in its own home. And, a housepet would have some control over its own food-------at least, someone
would be concerned if the pet left its food untouched.
No such concern would be wasted on these clients of the mental "health" system.
