Ticket to Work Ambassadors Turning Disability Into Employability San Diego Pioneer Front-Liner Team: Darah Gerou and Amy Giffin

Background Research Average of 12,000 college students who are beneficiaries graduate every year. – 50% make a work connection – 50% go home and stay on benefits College students who are beneficiaries, like any other student, have a tremendous drive to graduate and go to work. These students are not making appropriate connections to understand their benefits.

Trusted Source Most college students on benefits don’t trust SSA Most college students on benefits don’t understand SSA resources Students DO TRUST their peers *Information based on student interviews.

Cost Average lifetime SSA benefit cost for a student who graduates from college and stays home instead of making a work connection. – $400,000 per student – $400,000 per student x 6,000 per year = $2.4 billion per year on SSI/SSDI benefits alone Cost to students who stay on benefits – A LIFETIME OF POVERTY

Idea behind the Ambassadors Research shows we have to act now Research shows students trust their peers Simple answers was to hire and train students on work incentives and disseminate that information to their peers.

San Diego Team: Pioneer Front-Liners San Diego was the first site created to study the effectiveness of this project Project started in April, 2010 Darah Gerou and Amy Giffin are the first two trained Ambassadors

Program Goals Train Ambassadors on high level understanding of work incentives and who to connect to in the community to obtain assistance Outreaching to college and newly graduated college students on benefits using current technology Minimizing student confusion regarding SSI/SSDI and other work incentives programs in order to make information user friendly Connect students on benefits to community resources to assist them with using work incentives

Goals Continued Through outreach activities, recruit new Employment Networks Study what works and what doesn’t when outreaching to this demographic

Why the Ambassadors? Ambassadors have a peer to peer point of view Ambassadors are encountering similar frustrations with SSA and understanding work incentives Ambassadors and their peers learn from each other

Student Incentives Increased self-esteem Obtain financial independence Learn how to manage their own benefits MAKE A WORK CONNECTION

Contact Information Karla Bell – San Diego Site Mentor Phone: Darah Gerou – Ambassador Phone: Amy Giffin – Ambassador Phone:

Contact Information Please visit the San Diego Ambassadors on Facebook: Associates-Pioneer-Front- Liners/ ?__a=7& Talent Knows No Limits