RICHMOND, Va. — An update to last week's story about a disabled Prince George County woman struggling for years to get her benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Bobbi Perez said she has received most of the over $20,000 the SSA owed her.
And crucially, she was able to settle her back rent with her landlord and avoid Tuesday's scheduled eviction hearing.
The former office receptionist and warehouse worker suffers from a rare heart condition and lives with a pacemaker.
Watch: Disabled Virginia woman faces eviction; Social Security continues to hold money
She contacted CBS 6 last summer about her struggle, and within months after I reached out to the SSA, they sent her a letter saying she would get two years of disability back pay.
But nearly two months later, she had not received a dime of it, even though the SSA paid her attorney and itself a service fee from that award.
With the clock ticking on Tuesday's eviction, she was desperate to pay her landlord the three months' rent she owed.
With Monday's last-minute funds transfer from the SSA, Perez can stay in the house she has called home for nearly ten years.
There are, however, many follow-up questions that a spokesperson for the SSA has yet to answer despite my many requests: notably, how long is the SSA supposed to keep a claimant's award when it's been used to pay attorney's fees and to pay the SSA itself?
And was someone at the Petersburg office holding up the distribution of her benefits even after the SSA made its decision on the $20,000?
We'll be following up on those and other questions.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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