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Dear Colleague,

People who struggle with low-income, limited English proficiency, homelessness, mental illness, and other challenges have historically relied on getting help in person from Social Security.

During much of the pandemic, our offices have been open only for in-person appointments for limited, critical situations, depending upon local office conditions. These measures help protect the health and safety of our employees and the public they serve.

We have continued to offer many services on our website that are secure and easy to use. And our representatives have continued to help people by telephone on our National 800 Number and when calling a local office. Many underserved people face barriers to service when unable to access or use the internet or telephones to get the help they need. We understand this and are asking for your help.

If you know someone who cannot use Social Security's online services at www.ssa.gov, please encourage them to call their local office or the National 800 Number for assistance. If we cannot help them by phone, the local office can determine if an in-person appointment or other options may be available to help.

To serve those who need more help, we are partnering with community and faith-based groups on a national outreach campaign. The goal of the campaign is to increase public awareness of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit programs and to support third-party groups that can help others apply for benefits. The SSI and SSDI programs provide critical financial assistance, and, in many cases, grant access to healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.

Key components of our outreach campaign include:

• Working with community and faith-based groups: Your group can make all the difference in the lives of people in your community. You can assist with taking applications for SSI or refer people to Social Security. Interested in helping someone people submit a claim for SSI? Please contact the Social Security Regional Communications Director for your state to learn how
• Online tools and informational pages that your organization can use and refer to, including:
• Resources for people helping others access Social Security services at www.ssa.gov/thirdparty.
• Outreach materials for partner groups working with people who face barriers to service at www.ssa.gov/thirdparty/groups/vulnerable-populations.html.
• Updated information for faith-based and community groups, including a new toolkit and fact sheets about SSI and SSDI, at www.ssa.gov/thirdparty/groups/faithandcommunity.html.
• A national advertising campaign on TV, radio, and social media, with emphasis on benefits for children with disabilities.

We collaborated with members of the claimant advocacy community on this campaign. Their voice is reflected throughout the campaign, ensuring support groups like yours have the resources needed to be successful and help those you care about.

In addition to the valuable resources above, we encourage you to also visit our Information for Groups and Organizations web page and related What's New web page for groups and organizations. Subscribe to get updates and stay informed.

I encourage you to visit and subscribe to Social Security's blog at blog.ssa.gov to receive alerts when we publish new articles from our partners and share the latest information about our national outreach campaign.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Buckner
Associate Commissioner
Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
@SSAOutreach