Disability Advocates of Northwest NC

04/08/2026

We have a great need to establish a Client Emergency Fund to assist disabled individuals with basic needs during the time they are awaiting their applications to be approved and their disability benefits to begin. For example, a current client need is for Katie, a 40-year-old woman who has a degenerative, terminal neurological condition, uses a power wheelchair, is currently homeless, and who is awaiting placement in an accessible apartment. She cannot stay in a shelter because they do not have accessible bathrooms. Until her housing situation is settled, she needs assistance to pay for an extended stay hotel so that she is not out on the streets. Please donate to help people like Katie in their time of greatest need. Your gift is fully tax deductible and will go entirely to help vulnerable disabled individuals. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/client-emergency-fund

02/03/2026

Kathleen Timbinaris joined the team at Disability Advocates in January 2026. Kathleen joins our team with several years of experience as a paralegal in a Social Security Office where she helped clients through the initial application process all the way through the hearing level. As a Case Specialist, Kathleen works closely with clients to guide them through the disability application and decision process with clarity and care. She assists our clients by preparing and filing disability claims, helping ensure that each case is thorough, accurate, and supported with the necessary documentation.

Known for a calm and approachable style, Kathleen is committed to making a complex and often overwhelming process more manageable. She takes pride in advocating for clients’ needs, answering questions with patience, and providing steady support every step of the way. Welcome, Kathleen!

01/08/2026

2025 was a great year! We won benefits for 28 clients, 15 of whom were homeless at the time we started working with them. We won an average monthly benefit for these individuals of $1174, and an average of almost $20,000 in backpay. In total, we won over $500,000 in back benefits for our clients! And, across the board, we exceeded the national average success rate at every stage of the process. These successes are measured not just in dollars, however, but in lives changed, individuals housed and off the streets, financially secure, and covered by health insurance!

12/19/2025

Access to special accounts that allow individuals with disabilities to SAVE MONEY without losing out on government benefits will soon expand dramatically. Beginning in January, individuals with disabilities with an onset date before age 46 will be able to save money in special ABLE accounts. (The previous age limit was 26.) Learn more, or open an account, by clicking the link below.

NC ABLE Account Medicaid “Clawback” modifications: disallow Medicaid to recover funds from NC ABLE accounts unless required by federal law. Read more.

10/20/2025

North Carolina has already made cuts to Medicaid reimbursements, which means fewer providers will accept Medicaid patients.

Multiple states are cutting their Medicaid programs even before the brunt of a new federal law takes effect, raising fears that access to care will become more limited for people with disabilities.

08/01/2025

Welcome to Tracy Nicholson, new Case Manager for Disability Advocates! Tracy joined the organization in May, and she brings 18 years of experience as a paralegal advocate for Legal Aid. In that role, she handled Disability/Medicaid claims, Unemployment Insurance Claims, Subsidized Housing denials, and Individual Education Plans. Tracy works directly with Disability Advocates’ clients and coordinates with contract attorneys for clients with cases at the hearing or Appeals Council levels.

07/03/2025

Republicans just voted to take away your Medicaid.

05/16/2025

Medicaid saves lives.

Cutting benefits and adding work requirements for Medicaid hurts individuals who are disabled, poor, and vulnerable.

Call your representatives and ask them to protect Medicaid!

04/01/2025

Social Security is NOT charity. It is NOT a Ponzi scheme.
Social Security is an earned benefit.

03/23/2025

Fact: UNDER 0.00625% of Social Security payments are erroneous.

03/11/2025

There's lots of news swirling about the Social Security system, so here are some facts for you:
* In early 2025, staffing was already at a 50-year low at the Social Security Administration (SSA).
* The wait time for a first-time application for disability benefits is close to 1 year.
* This wait time is twice as long as it was in 2016.
* The new SSA commissioner cut the SSA's 57,000 workforce by 7000.
* The new SSA commissioner plans to cut the SSA's regional offices from 10 to 4.
* If there are no changes to the system, SSA is currently solvent (can pay 100% of benefits) through year 2034.
* There are several proposed solutions to keep the SSA fund solvent: remove the cap on wages that incur a Social Security tax (currently no tax after $176,100); increase the Social Security payroll tax rate; raise the retirement age; reduce benefit growth over time; and move to a flat payment rate, among others.

02/13/2025

This applies for SSDI and SSI, too. Be sure to report address changes!

Medicaid users who do not report their change of address could see a loss of benefits. Report your change of address as soon as possible to the Forsyth County Department of Social Services at 336-703-3803.