There is a little known
program inside the Social
Security disability system
which Veterans should know
something about, if not for
themselves, then for their
disabled children.

I found a discussion on it
in 2 different places.
You can go to Google.com and
pull up hits using the
SEARCH term: PASS and "Social Security"
or you can also pull up a
published book on the subject
which is now on-online for
reading (also at Google.com)
"Putting Creativity To Work"
at VSARTS.ORG which is the
Very Special Arts Program
in Washington DC.

PASS can be good but in my
own case, by the time I found
out about it, it can be certain
doom also. So I describe this
program with caution that it's
not for everyone and frankly,
I think the designers need
to go back to the drawing
board one more time on it.

PASS is for those disabled people
who can do saleable arts or crafts
and use the support system of
SSD or SSI to launch your own
self employment or home business
doing those arts or crafts.

Sounds kinda neat, huh ???

If you can purchase the book
somewhere "Putting Creativity
To Work" then I recommend that
you do that because the sucker
is HUGE with over 300 pages
and you can believe me when I
tell you that no stone is left
unturned by the time you get
to the end of it.

It's really too much reading to
do at a computer.

The way that PASS works goes
something like this........

You fill out some forms and
nearly half of your SSD or SSI
income is diverted into a
special savings account while
you actually live on a piece
of your monthly benefits.
The amount in the savings account,
when accumulated enough times,
then becomes withdrawable for
you to apply towards the purchase
of starting up your own home
or self-employment business.

For those people who get really
large monthly payouts on SSD
or SSI, then I guess this would
be a Hail Mary program to find
their way back off of disability.

But for those who are already
not receiving enough to barely
get by to begin with, I can
only say back to the Social
Security Administration: DUH !!
What are they thinking??

The Very Special Arts program,
which works in collaboration with
PASS, does have a separate Veterans
In Arts program, but I have found
that only a few VA installations
actually carries VSA.

Here in New York, wouldn't ya
know it, I found some old lady
who is dumber than a doornail,
is siphoning all of the VSA
funding into New York City
to run elementary school arts
programs for foreign immigrant
kids. She had the audacity to
send me their exhibit folder
which had an allegiance to
America them and I guess that
was supposed to make me feel
better.

But there are other locations
around the country, I think
VA Delaware is one of them, who
do carry the VSA funding for
Veterans in Arts.

There is plenty of reading on
this at Google.com, but for
those who need an advisor,
you can start at the counter
of your local Social Security
Administration and tell them
you need a counselor to talk
to you about the PASS program.

With todays website Internet
sales capabilities including
E-Bay and Amazon.com, I don't
doubt for one minute that
some Veteran out there somewhere
can and should use this PASS
program