Document Actions
Faith in the Future: Benjearlene Nelson
Benjearlene Nelson
Why do some people buckle under the weight of adversity and other use hardships to make them stronger, better individuals? For Benjearlene Nelson, the answer lies in her faith: in the Lord, her friends and family, and the people that have given her a hand up- not a hand out. After nearly dying from a liver disease, contracting an eye infection that left her blind in her left eye, and surviving an abusive relationship where her husband attempted to burn down their home with her and her two children inside; Benjearlene has certainly earned the title of a survivor.
Yet, survival was not enough for Benjearlene. She wanted more for her and her children. In 1996, she was receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, and welfare (at the time called Aid to Families with Dependent Children, now known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF). Many people with her disabilities and benefits package consider themselves lucky to have this level of subsistence without having to work. Not Benjearlene, who wanted to own her own home and to provide a better life for her children by setting a strong example.
She remembered receiving a letter from the Social Security Administration that had something to do with a program called Ticket to Work, but she didn’t really understand what it was or what to do with the ticket, so she placed it in a drawer. Later, with her health stabilized, she was ready to go back to work and went to the Gulfstream Goodwill in West Palm Beach, Florida. The same thoughts went through her mind as many other people with disabilities: who would want to hire a disabled person? Her confidence shaky, her Ticket in hand (which she still did not understand), all she knew was that she needed a job and was convinced, if given the chance, she could work.
Benjearlene started as a telemarketer, working for Crystal Marketing, selling vacations at a resort in the Poconos, PA. Starting in April 2003, by June of that year, Benjearlene was their top sales person, working 20 hours a week. Even though she had not understood the Ticket program before, she was now a believer. Her Ticket was her safety net. She had never really worked before and it was a big risk; she also knew that she couldn’t live without health care. Benjearlene became a champion of the Ticket to Work program, testifying before the House Ways & Means Committee on Capitol Hill and speaking before the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel in Ft. Lauderdale.
In less than two years, Benjearlene had saved enough from her 2 jobs (now a supervisor at the telemarketing agency and nights at the Palm Beach Post) to buy a home in Royal Palm Beach. It was then that she decided she wanted to give something back to the agency that had believed in her from the start. She started working for the Gulfstream Goodwill and helped open the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in Boynton Beach. Benjearlene was a big advocate of the VITA program that helps people of low-incomes file tax returns for free.
The first two years of her working career, Benjearlene had gone to a professional tax preparer and paid $300 each year, simply because she did not know that VITA sites offered the exact same service for free. The first year that she used the Royal Palm Beach Recreational Center’s VITA site (it was near to her house), her Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) was $2,600. While this year her return is less (she no longer qualifies for the CTC because of her children’s ages and the taxes on her second job were not properly estimated), she is still grateful for not having to pay to have her return filed.
The future looks bright for Benjearlene, which is entirely due to her willingness to take a risk and demand more from herself and for her children. She credits her strength to her faith and hopes to use both to start her own supportive living business; and as always, to continue to advocate and inspire.
Why do some people buckle under the weight of adversity and other use hardships to make them stronger, better individuals? For Benjearlene Nelson, the answer lies in her faith: in the Lord, her friends and family, and the people that have given her a hand up- not a hand out. After nearly dying from a liver disease, contracting an eye infection that left her blind in her left eye, and surviving an abusive relationship where her husband attempted to burn down their home with her and her two children inside; Benjearlene has certainly earned the title of a survivor.
Yet, survival was not enough for Benjearlene. She wanted more for her and her children. In 1996, she was receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, and welfare (at the time called Aid to Families with Dependent Children, now known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF). Many people with her disabilities and benefits package consider themselves lucky to have this level of subsistence without having to work. Not Benjearlene, who wanted to own her own home and to provide a better life for her children by setting a strong example.
She remembered receiving a letter from the Social Security Administration that had something to do with a program called Ticket to Work, but she didn’t really understand what it was or what to do with the ticket, so she placed it in a drawer. Later, with her health stabilized, she was ready to go back to work and went to the Gulfstream Goodwill in West Palm Beach, Florida. The same thoughts went through her mind as many other people with disabilities: who would want to hire a disabled person? Her confidence shaky, her Ticket in hand (which she still did not understand), all she knew was that she needed a job and was convinced, if given the chance, she could work.
Benjearlene started as a telemarketer, working for Crystal Marketing, selling vacations at a resort in the Poconos, PA. Starting in April 2003, by June of that year, Benjearlene was their top sales person, working 20 hours a week. Even though she had not understood the Ticket program before, she was now a believer. Her Ticket was her safety net. She had never really worked before and it was a big risk; she also knew that she couldn’t live without health care. Benjearlene became a champion of the Ticket to Work program, testifying before the House Ways & Means Committee on Capitol Hill and speaking before the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel in Ft. Lauderdale.
In less than two years, Benjearlene had saved enough from her 2 jobs (now a supervisor at the telemarketing agency and nights at the Palm Beach Post) to buy a home in Royal Palm Beach. It was then that she decided she wanted to give something back to the agency that had believed in her from the start. She started working for the Gulfstream Goodwill and helped open the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in Boynton Beach. Benjearlene was a big advocate of the VITA program that helps people of low-incomes file tax returns for free.
The first two years of her working career, Benjearlene had gone to a professional tax preparer and paid $300 each year, simply because she did not know that VITA sites offered the exact same service for free. The first year that she used the Royal Palm Beach Recreational Center’s VITA site (it was near to her house), her Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) was $2,600. While this year her return is less (she no longer qualifies for the CTC because of her children’s ages and the taxes on her second job were not properly estimated), she is still grateful for not having to pay to have her return filed.
The future looks bright for Benjearlene, which is entirely due to her willingness to take a risk and demand more from herself and for her children. She credits her strength to her faith and hopes to use both to start her own supportive living business; and as always, to continue to advocate and inspire.