Commentaries by Cynthia

A friend asked me to write this on her behalf. I've removed the actual names, but the message is very important to us all.

Western Program Service Center
P.O. Box 2000
Richmond, CA 94802-1000

To Whom It May Concern: This is in response to claim number 00000000.

I am writing an appeal of the decision made to disallow child benefits for Johnny and Susan, following the death of their mother, Mary Smith, who was also my sister.

What I'd like you to know is that Mary worked for many years, paying into her Social Security fund. However, after giving birth to Johnny in January, 2000, she suffered from a severe case of post-partum depression. Still, she tried to work while taking care of her child. Then, in November, 2000, Mary discovered she was pregnant again. After giving birth to her second child, Mary lapsed further and further into a deep depression that resulted in the loss of her job and health insurance. As if this wasn't bad enough, she applied for disability benefits, but was denied. She continued looking for work and was allowed to return to her old job. But the depression was still there, and since employers and coworkers often don't understand that depression is a medical illness, she suffered another job loss, something she didn't want but had no control over.