This world in which we are living is filled with different perspectives which I find enriching. Here at SA, we have a common mission of ‘advancing the potential of our communities, customers, and ourselves through exceptional service’. One of our foundational pillars is integrity.  

Here’s a recent situation where integrity led the way for us…

A client came to us a year ago with a family member serving as his representative payee. For anyone who does not know what this is, a rep payee is someone who receives Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income for an individual who is not fully able to manage their own funds. Part of this person’s role is ensuring the individual has access to their money to pay bills and meet daily living needs.  The program worked hard to partner with this rep payee, but bills were consistently late and the client’s spending money was erratic.     

The situation was negatively impacting the client and so the program reached out to his case manager. Together, they started the process of establishing a third-party payee. It was a lengthy process, but the client now has a new rep payee. This means he no longer has late bills, he can do household shopping in a timely manner, and he has reliable spending money. All of this benefits our client, and helps to ensure a better life and lifestyle.   

Was it worth it in the end?

While it is so challenging to disrupt a family member’s role, it was the right thing in this instance for the person we serve. These are challenging situations to navigate as family connections are so important. As a team, we were able to find balance between the client’s personal life, and their fiscal stability.