For years, the 80-year-old woman says people dismissed her as insane.
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‘They kept thinking I was insane, telling me to get rid of the suitcases, ‘ she told the Washington Post.
According to thePost, the now-80-year-old Wanda Witter moved to D.C.in 1999 after losing a machinist position in NY.
“Meanwhile, the Social Security benefits Witter finally chose to draw in 2006 were all over the place”. However, the monthly checks ranged from $900 to $300.
“I know I’m entitled to this, and somebody is screwing me here”, said Witter.
When she finally made a decision to claim benefits, she kept being sent cheques for the incorrect amount.
“Ready?” asked the SunTrust bank teller, before spinning his monitor around to show Witter the new amount in her account on Tuesday morning. She graduated as a paralegal from the local community college, and moved to DC in 1999 to try and find work.
‘She needed economic help, not mental help, ‘ Turner told the Post.
Social worker Julie Turner began working on her behalf, contacting the Social Security office in order to ascertain whether or not the government truly owed the woman $100,000.
‘That’s part of the problem with homelessness in DC, ‘ Turner added. So many cases are written off as being about mental illness. “A lot of times, homelessness really is simply about economics”.
Instead of dismissing Witter as insane, Turner waded through her documents and verified her story. She was right all along.
“Washington was where all the lawyers were supposed to be”, she said.
Witter then met attorney Daniela de la Piedra, who handles many Social Security disputes for the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, which is affiliated with the AARP. The full payments are now starting to come in, and Witter has moved into her own flat – a small place she’s renting for $500 a month. But she was right all along, and Social Security wrote her a check for $99,999.
She chose to go buy some groceries, and take them to the apartment she moved into last week. All you need to do is call the hotline or visit one of our location and say you believe your benefits, no matter how many years ago it was, was wrong and you want a review of your record.
And Witter and the bank teller high-fived, smiled and laughed. “Very often I have found unclaimed money from deceased loved ones for their family members”.
Agreeing with what others said about original story – something seems “off” with this lady.
“They kept sending me to mental counselors”. Some homeless people CHOOSE that life & fight going indoors!
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She sent letters and tried, in vain, to get someone to actually listen to her.
