Submitted by heatherkan t3_zyntv5 in personalfinance
Hello all. I suspect this might not be the exact right subreddit for this, I would gladly welcome any direction on more appropriate places to post.
I basically want to see if there are any more avenues for help that I can look into for my dad.
My dad is a 61-year-old veteran (discharged honorably younger in life, never injured in duty). He lives in Michigan.
EDIT: He served six years, plus two in ‘non-active reserve’. He served in his late teens(?) or early twenties (I will clarify this as soon as I can). This would have been early eighties. He did not serve in wartime. He was a file clerk in Hawaii, which he describes as “uneventful”.
He is currently housed (single home rental). He pays for his own utilities and cell phone. His rent is $750. He has a vehicle and minor home items, but no significant assets, no real estate, etc.
He, unfortunately, chose to under-report his income for most of his life, making most of his money cash, under the table. He has also done 1099 work over the years (including this year). He did have W2 employers here and there (briefly) but none that offer pension or other long-term help.
He has no retirement account and (basically) no savings. His income has varied wildly, but he estimates that his 1099 work was only $2000 last year, with the remainder of his bills being paid with cash jobs (to be clear, not enough cash jobs that he has anything left over).
He has not filed income taxes since 2011. This is, of course, my most emergent concern, and I'm reaching out to advocacy groups for low-income folks to try to sort that out as soon as possible. I know that will be a whole other deal, and I'm not looking for tax-specific advice here- just providing context.
He worked in carpet laying for many decades, and has ruined his body doing so. He's now under tremendous pain (hips/legs/back), although he has no specific diagnosis for any ongoing "condition".
He is currently in the VA hospital after experiencing several strokes over the last few weeks. They were, thankfully, small, and his initial weakness is getting better each day, but he'll be out of commission for a bit more. (this is not considered a long-term "condition", but is a symptom of smoking/cholesterol as far as the doctors have said)
He does have insurance through the VA, which I’m given to understand is sufficient for his situation.
Dad is underweight (pain makes it hard to eat and I believe he's also been hiding from me his difficulty buying food) and has been having difficulty making ends meet over the last few years as it is. With his health becoming worse, we're concerned that his ability to work is going to go downhill quickly. Certainly, his current physical-focused job is untenable. Even if he could find a minimum wage place that's not too physical to hire him part-time or something, it wouldn't be enough.
What I have looked into so far:
- Section 8 housing - He would technically qualify, but all lists are currently closed. When they do open, it could still be 2 years or more to get help. He c
- He does qualify for social security, starting at age 62. He will receive around $800/mo if he starts at 62 (next August)
- I can't imagine that he would qualify for disability- he has no formal "diagnosis", and is not old enough to get that help without being disabled. I am also dubious if he has enough work history on the books to qualify for disability anyway.
- He has three adult children, none of which are able to take him in (all are living in tiny spaces or are, themselves, on SSI / other assistance with their own issues). I am the most stable financially, but not doing well enough to take over his bills to the extent he would need. I hope to be able to assist a bit, but it won't be enough. (I am also caring for my disabled mother financially- they are divorced)
- Obviously, he could move into VA or simular housing but this option is... well, it's pretty terrible as it's typically designed to be transient in nature and most typically you're housing with folks who have addiction or mental health problems, which is tough.
Any suggestions on other avenues to check into? Anything I'm forgetting?