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Mysherrii Lard Williams - From Personal Adversity to Disability Advocacy Leader: Navigating Social Security Benefits, Empowering Veterans, and Building Client Trust Through Pandemic Challenges
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Social Security Disability Benefits Representation
Speaker 1I'm Mychery Williams . I'm from Pinnacle Disability Services and we provide representation for individuals who have applied or been denied for social security disability benefits and we just make sure that we do everything that we can to make that process as easy and carefree as possible for our clients .
Speaker 2Yeah , I love that . And now give me a little bit of a background story about yourself . I know that you represented your mother who also had a disability .
Speaker 1Tell me about how that journey started .
Speaker 2I guess it started with your mother , right ? Tell me how you got from there to where you are today .
Speaker 1Okay , awesome . So at a very young age , my mother became disabled . She drove school buses , so she was a teacher and a school bus driver . She drove school buses , so she , she was a teacher and a school bus driver . So she had an illness . And , um , she , she would know . She knew that she wanted to apply for disability benefits but just didn't know how to get started or what steps she needed to take .
Speaker 1So , um , being a child of hers and wanting to help as much as I could , I started to do a little investigating , seeing what the process was like , and I found out it was so complicated it wasn't something that someone can just readily pick up and begin to represent themselves . So I started helping her out with that process and I saw a avenue to assist others . So I learned everything I could about social security benefits and how it affects people and what it means to them . If you're disabled , you have a life challenge , you don't know where to go , your income is low , you can't work and things like that . So I just helped her out with that process . She got awarded , so it was a great outcome . And then , from there , I started to help friends , family , neighbors and just get the word out on disability benefits and how I could assist with making that process easy .
Speaker 2Yeah , that is incredible . And did you have a mentor , I guess ? Was it a judge ? I believe yes , Talk to me a little bit about that , okay ?
Speaker 1So soon after that , after college , I landed a position with an administrative law judge and he taught me everything from his perspective , as he was the person who adjudicated the cases and made sure everything was right and in order for the clients . So he just taught me some of the strategic ways to get clients' cases approved and to make this process more streamlined and easier to maneuver .
Speaker 2Yeah , absolutely . And now I'd like to ask you about the type of benefits that maybe perhaps some people aren't even aware of . Can you talk to me about what those benefits are ?
Speaker 1Sure , so the Social Security Administration administers two programs . One is SSI and the other one is SSDI . Ssi is basically an income-based program the Social Security Disability , ssdi's more . So the money that you pay in from your work history , you will recoup that back and it'll be a resource of income when you can no longer work . So those are the two type of programs that we apply for our clients and just based on their income or resources or work history , you can be approved for one , both or one of the other ?
Speaker 2Okay , and what is the process like , like when we're coming to you . What does that look like ? Is it all online ? Do you fill it out by paper ? What information are ?
Speaker 1they looking for . Okay , that's a great question . So typically it can be done three ways . You can do it online , in person or over the phone . We like to make it as easy as possible , so let's travel and things like that and now that technology has advanced so much , a lot of it is done online . We do the application , we take your information . Say , for instance , if you call our office , say , hey , you know , I have an issue , I've had an impairment , I'm not sure if I can qualify or not , and we just take as much information as you allow us to have and then we scrub that against the rules and regulations of the disability department and see what benefits you qualify for . And typically it's done over the phone and online for us and it's just make sure that you have a reliable phone number that we can call to get in touch with you if we need any questions or concerns along the way .
Speaker 2Absolutely . And then , as far as marketing goes for yourself and your business , what does that look like ? Are you on social media ? Are you going to like event groups ? Is it word of mouth ?
Speaker 1Talk to me about that All of the above . So we have resources , we're on Facebook , we're on Instagram and we're venturing out to YouTube . One of the podcasts here is one of those resources that we're depending on to get the word out as , speaking with you , you are in the community as well , and so we have our website , which is wwwmydisabilityexpertscom , and then our telephone number is 202-996-2550 , where we can be contacted through those On social media . It's the same minddisabilityexpertscom .
Speaker 2Love that and then to be represented . Do they need an attorney ? Would that be something that you would be able to help ?
Speaker 1them with ? Absolutely so . At Pinnacle Disability Services we have attorneys and non-attorneys . They're all certified with certificates and accolades from the Social Security Administration to practice . So coming to us , you will definitely get those benefits and the best resources that are available to us .
Speaker 2Nice . What have you noticed are some struggles or challenges for people when it comes to applying or just even asking for help . What are those common , I guess , struggles that you see ?
Speaker 1A lot of the struggles are are just obtaining medical records . Everything has to be documented . A lot of times we're waiting for the doctors , the providers , to dictate those medical records so that we can retrieve those , and it's just been a backlog . Unfortunately , since the pandemic , we're still feeling the raft of that , the backlog . Everything's held up . A lot of us are working from home . The office staffs have tremendously decreased , so a lot of the challenges is basically getting the documentations and putting them in order to present , to get that decision .
Speaker 2Yeah , absolutely . And then , three years of working in this industry , what have been some changes that you've noticed ? Has it improved ? Has it gotten worse ? Talk to me about that .
Speaker 1The technical part of it has gotten worse with technology . Back years ago , everything was paper , everything was done on the phone and through the mail snail mail as we used to call it Snail mail .
Speaker 2yes .
Speaker 1Yes . So now with technology , we can do a lot of scanning , retrieving medical records that way . We also have what's called the HITs , where we're able to get into the hospital systems , of course with their approval and the HIPAA , with the HIPAA laws allowing us that access to those hospitals , and we can retrieve those records that way . So a lot of that barrier has been broken . But it depends on where you're being , the treatment is being provided , what doctors you're seeing , whether they're under the HIST system , what they're using to store the medical records . It can be a little bit of a challenge . The other thing is just communicating with the clients , just getting them to answer their phones to be available . I mean , they're going to doctors , they have a lot going on , they're still having to deal with their families and things like that . So that can be a bit of a challenge . Just a delay , different delays in the process , Got it ?
Speaker 2When people are coming . I guess , if they know , I guess ahead of time would it be better if they're just like collecting their medical records beforehand , Like those really important ones .
Speaker 1Yes , absolutely . So we do advise . When you do go to your doctor's appointments , if you see your medical providers , make sure you ask them hey , can I get a copy of this , or can you write a statement pertaining to my disabilities so that I can present that to the Social Security Administration ? It does make it a lot easier , if you have that statement from your doctor , to say hey , I have this impairment , this impairment , this is how it affects me , this is why I can't work . It definitely helps a lot .
Speaker 2Yeah , absolutely . And then I always hear about like Social Security and all this and maybe I've heard wrong or not , but you correct me but apparently it's going to like go away and like I guess millennials won't be able to see the benefits of that . What are your thoughts , or what's the word , on that ?
Speaker 1The word on that is yes , they say it's going away , but no , social Security is a program that was designed back in the early 1967 , if I'm not mistaking and it'll be around for a while as long as we have civilians that are working and paying into the system . The government is always looking for ways to improve it . So it will be there for us . Yes , okay , just checking on that .
Speaker 1That was like my own curious mind asking that yes , I get that question a lot it's going to go away . We're not going to have it . Now . What does happen is they increase the age limit . Back when I started in social security , the age limit to retire was 52 . And back then I was just like , oh my goodness , that's so far away . And now that I'm closer to there , it's like okay , wait a minute , yeah Right . So now it's like okay , wait a minute , yeah Right , so now it's actually moved up to 67 .
Speaker 1So you can see how the benefits are there it's just um . You have to wait a little longer with your age to retire Wow 67 .
Speaker 2So basically 70 , right Exactly From 52 to 70 . That's a big jump .
Speaker 1Absolutely so yes , the benefits will be there . It's just the age limits and different qualification requirements may change .
Speaker 2Yeah , okay . And then what have been some common misconceptions when it comes to , I guess , your industry , whether it's through the client side or your industry side ? Talk to me about those misconceptions and debunk some if you need to . Yeah .
Speaker 1The biggest misconception that I've seen is someone saying oh , I broke my leg , I can get disability . And it doesn't work that way . It definitely has to be an impairment that is expected to last for 12 months or something debilitating that you won't return to work . So it's not just like a broken arm , a broken finger , broke my nose , things like that . It has to be something where you're impaired and you can't perform any jobs at the sedentary level , which means a sitting job . When you're just sitting at a desk , you have to be unable to perform that type of work .
Speaker 1So that's the biggest misconception A lot of times . Another one is if you stop working today , I have , depending on the circumstances , they have other resources coming in , maybe a life insurance policy or something where they go okay , I don't have to work right now , I won't apply for my disability , but they do have a disabling condition and they wait after five years and those benefits are no longer available . So once you decide that you cannot return to work your impairments are severe go ahead and apply immediately . That way you're on track and you won't miss out on your disability benefits that you've worked so hard for .
Speaker 2Yeah , absolutely Good to know .
Veterans Benefits and Teamwork Challenges
Speaker 2And then , um , what are some things maybe you would like to share that I'm not touching on , maybe about yourself , your business , anything .
Speaker 1One of the things I just wanted to make sure that we do veterans benefits . So a lot of the veterans don't understand that they can get this social security disability as well as the VA benefits . I just encourage all the veterans to look into that If they have . Whether you have your 100 percent disability or 50% or 30% , it doesn't matter , it depends on your impairment . So make sure for the veterans out there to go ahead and look into that social security . Give us a call if you have any questions or concerns or you're just not really unsure , just give us a call .
Speaker 2Okay , love that . And then , as a business owner , how many team members do you have with you and what have been some of the challenges ?
Speaker 1Right now we have five . Again back to the pandemic no one wants to come into the office . Everyone wants to work remote . So it's been a challenge because we do need face-to-face interactions with our clients . So it's just been a challenge . On having someone come into the office Right now we rotate Luckily I have five so we can rotate one person each day . Someone come into the office right now we rotate . Luckily I have five so we can rotate one person each day to be into the office . But it's been becoming a challenge . Everybody wants to go that one day a week , hybrid and things like that . So that's been the main challenge so far .
Speaker 2Yeah Well , teamwork makes the dream work .
Speaker 1You got to work together and not just one person doing it right ?
Speaker 2Yes , absolutely . And then I'd like to ask you , as my final question do you have a quote or a saying that has inspired you in any way that maybe you would like to share with us ? Whether it's been , maybe something that someone said and you're like , wait a minute , that stood out .
Speaker 1Okay , I have a few , but one that sticks out the most is always do your best and treat people the way you want to be treated , absolutely . That's the one that just sticks to me and I carry it . Actually , my second grade teacher said that before . She said just always do your best and treat people how you want to be treated , no matter what the circumstance is . Just always give that out .
Speaker 2Yes , well , thank you so much for being on the podcast . Thank you for having me .
Speaker 1It's been such a pleasure .