Ask Mike - Can PAS services help me?

Dear Looking for PAS,

Thank you for writing. The succinct answer to your question is "yes"! Situations like yours are a perfect example of the reason and purpose for PAS. Most actual PAS programs are provided by Medicaid and are called Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers. Since you stated that you are SSI eligible, you will automatically be Medicaid eligible. In fact, you most likely have been receiving your health care through your state's Medicaid program. If this is the case, the easiest thing to do might be just to ask your case manager how to get the assistance that you need.

There are a couple of other resources on our PAS Center website that may be important. The first is your local center for independent living (CIL). CILs are not-for-profit organizations that are owned and run by people with a variety of disabilities. One of the services they provide is "peer counseling". Peer counseling involves a person on staff with a disability assisting another person with a disability (like yourself) with adjusting to being disabled, learning how to do things in a new way, and so on. Your local CIL could be an important resource for all sorts of things. The PAS Center website can assist you with finding the CIL closest to you.

Go to our Agencies related to PAS page and select your state. Next, click on "State Independent Living Council and Centers for Independent Living". If you do not see a CIL located near you, contact the Statewide Independent Living Council and they can assist you with which CIL might be best to contact.

The other resource is the state Medicaid agency. You will notice that "State Medicaid Agency" is an option found on the same page as above. The state Medicaid agency should be able to provide you with all sort of information about which programs might be available to meet your needs and what the eligibility criteria are. If you want, you can investigate the various Medicaid HCBS Waiver programs in your state on the PAS Center website, just go to Contact Info and Descriptions for Medicaid Waivers and select your state. Check out the program(s) that seem to best fit you and your needs.

A key figure in the independent living movement named Judy Heumann once said that being independent didn't mean doing everything for yourself, but rather it meant being in control of decision making. I leave you with this thought because needing and using PAS doesn't have to mean losing your independence. PAS can really maintain or increase your independence as long as you maintain the right attitude.

Best of luck!

Mike Oxford