Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. After 20 years of military service, Donald Patterson left the U.S. Army with emotional and health issues that made it difficult for him to work. Read how Allsup helped this veteran with disabilities transition into daily life.

 

Detroit, Michigan— In May 2010, U.S. Army veteran Donald Patterson had a chance encounter with a Detroit city worker. “I believe God led to me to this man,” said Mr. Patterson, who recently had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

After hauling yard waste to a Detroit city drop-off spot, Mr. Patterson opened up with a city worker about the stress of post-military life.

 

The worker told him of a veteran friend with similar problems who received help getting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. But this anonymous worker couldn’t remember the unusual name of the company. He promised Mr. Patterson he would have the company name the next time he brought in clippings and debris.

 

Could the city worker be believed? Did help really exist for veterans?

 

“I don’t have a lot of faith in people, and I walked around with distrust,” Mr. Patterson said. “But the next time I cut down bushes and trees, I went back to the drop-off spot. The city worker was still there, and he gave me the name of the firm that helped his friend.”

 

Scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper in the worker’s hand was the name “Allsup.”

 

For Mr. Patterson, the second encounter was an affirming and life-changing moment. He was excited to learn about the help the Belleville, Ill., company offers veterans and others applying for SSDI, a payroll tax-funded, federal insurance program. Its purpose is to provide income to people who are unable to work because of a severe disabling impairment.

 

Mr. Patterson joined the Army in 1979 and left a decade later to study chemistry and math at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. After ROTC training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1993 and returned to active service as an officer. He then developed high blood pressure that was managed with medication, but remained erratic. The military lifestyle only aggravated his hypertension. He left the Army nearly 20 years after his original enlistment; isolated, depressed and in “unfamiliar territory.”

 

With his technical education and military background, Mr. Patterson received lucrative job offers, but continued health problems made it difficult for him to work. After his fourth job after leaving the Army, family members encouraged him to seek treatment at the local Veterans Administration hospital.

 

“I was diagnosed with PTSD, which took some time to digest,” he said. According to the National Institutes of Health website, post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.

 

That’s when the unexpected meeting with a caring city worker introduced him to Allsup.

 

“I called Allsup right away, even though I was in a bad emotional place. The interviewer made me feel as comfortable as possible. He gave me time to recover when I became emotional.”

 

Mr. Patterson continued. “The most important thing to me was how timely the Allsup staff was. Anyone used to a military lifestyle knows how the military works on being punctual. We complete our missions on a timeline. We meet our milestones. Allsup works on that same concept.

 

“I never had emotional issues before. I was always the family hero, always the person providing. I was always doing those things for other folks,” he explained. “Then, I didn’t know what any day was going to bring. I didn’t want to be a part of anything.” He last worked in August 2009.

 

“When I first talked with Allsup, they didn’t give me the impression that they had heard it all before,” he said. “They truly listened to me, and gave me all the time I needed to explain my situation.

 

“I know now that I really needed Allsup, but at the time I didn’t even know that. They were a driving vehicle for me so that I didn’t have to go it alone with the Social Security Administration.”

 

Since 1984, Allsup has delivered specialized services for people with disabilities such as Mr. Patterson. Ninety-eight percent of the people who complete the SSDI process with Allsup receive awards.

 

“Allsup was genuinely concerned about me,” Mr. Patterson said. “There was nothing degrading about what I had to go through with them. It was degrading enough to tell my story.

 

“They set up appointments and they kept them. Whatever Allsup said it was going to do—they did it. And if I was having a bad day and didn’t feel like talking, that was okay, too.”

 

Less than a year after his first call to Allsup, Mr. Patterson was awarded benefits in March 2011.

 

Thanks to Allsup, Mr. Patterson and his wife see a brighter future.

 

“I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to serve in the military. Any military member who needs help getting SSDI should contact Allsup instead of going it alone. Allsup is a great vehicle to help veterans with disabilities transition into civilian life,” the veteran pointed out.

 

“Trust is a big issue with military folks,” Mr. Patterson said. “We are somewhat distrustful from the war in Vietnam, because so many soldiers have gone for years without getting their fair share. The trust was easy with Allsup because they made it easy.”