General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums‘I wasn’t crazy.’ A homeless woman’s long war to prove the feds owe her $100,000.
If youve spent any time in downtown Washington, youve probably seen 80-year-old Wanda Witter.
Shock white hair, a determined, unsmiling set to her mouth, jeans. She may have asked you for some change and probably didnt smile if you gave her some. This month you may have also been taken aback by the black eye and stitches across her face.
For years, Witter bedded down for the night at 13th and G streets NW, on the concrete in her blue sleeping bag, pulled up tight to keep the rats and cockroaches out. Her tower of three suitcases was stacked on her hand cart and bike-locked to the patio chairs next to her.
She may have even told you that inside those bags is all the paperwork to prove the government owes her more than $100,000. And she was right.
...
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,959 posts)the "comments" -
"Crystal" said it was all Obama's fault.
Guess she forgot about Hillary being involved (after all, she had to be, right?).
niyad
(114,184 posts)joined in after I'd read it and entered my response.
Yeah, he's a "special one" - for sure!
niyad
(114,184 posts)well, that is annoying. I went back to read the comments again, and am being told I must subscribe first, which I did not have to do this morning.
Festivito
(13,453 posts)to claim government doesn't work and look how bad it is with the Dem in office.
They should all be hogtied and dipped in bovine doo.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Hugin
(33,256 posts)Shame! Shame! On the Republicans for turning Social Security into a political football at the behest of Wall Street. (I'm talking to you, Peter G. Peterson.)
They should be lowering the retirement age and not raising it. To open up opportunities in the workplace for younger people to move in and up.
dembotoz
(16,879 posts)hunter
(38,363 posts)I suspect she is, since she reminds me very much of my grandma who definitely was mentally ill. My grandma's symptoms got much worse after she retired and it's very easy for me to picture my grandma as a homeless person like Ms. Witter.
But my grandma got her pension and her social security exactly as she was entitled to it. She also owned her house with no mortgage, and didn't leave it until she was declared a danger to herself and others and removed in a fiery hours long standoff with police and paramedics.
Of course no assisted care place would take my grandma for long since she was extremely demanding and mean and occasionally violent, so then my grandma would live with my parents.
A $100,000 payment and more is what Ms. Witter is owed, but money isn't everything. Every grifter who reads this story is going to be on the lookout for her.
There are no social safety nets for most people in the U.S.A.. In many cases our society actively makes life worse for people who have mental illnesses.
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.