Outreach to Vulnerable Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Last week, over 1,500 people joined me on a national conference call to learn how their organizations can help the Social Security Administration assist our most vulnerable populations during COVID-19. Participants included representatives of the non-profit community, health care organizations, private industry, Federal, State, and local government, and Congress. The response was nothing short of extraordinary and serves as an example of the public service spirit that unites us all.

Now, more than ever, it is vital that we join together to serve our most vulnerable populations. People who struggle with low-income, limited English proficiency, homelessness, or with mental illness, have historically relied on meeting with us in person at our local offices to get the help they need. With our offices currently unable to accept walk-in visitors to protect both our beneficiaries and our work force during the pandemic, it is essential that we continue to engage with the public online, on the telephone, and by appointment for limited, critical situations.

To address the challenge of continuing to serve those who need us most, we’ve joined with external partners to launch a new national outreach campaign. The goal of the campaign is to connect eligible individuals to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The SSI and SSDI programs provide critical financial assistance, including life-saving access to healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in many cases.

Key components of our outreach campaign include:

• Working with community-based groups that can assist with taking applications for SSI and SSDI.
• Launching a national advertising campaign on TV, radio, and social media, with emphasis on children with disabilities.
• Adding a number of new online tools and informational pages, including:
  • Online resources for People Helping Others access our services.
  • Online Outreach Materials for Vulnerable Populations for partner groups to use.
  • Updated information for Faith-Based and Community Groups, including a new toolkit and fact sheets about SSI and SSDI.

I want to thank the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for working with us and sharing our website and products with their national network of faith and community leaders.

I also want to thank members of the claimant advocacy community for their collaboration on this campaign. We will feature their perspectives on serving vulnerable populations on this blog site over the coming weeks.

Please be sure to subscribe to this blog so that you receive alerts whenever we publish new articles from our partners. We will also share the latest information about our national outreach campaign here.