Disability and Social Security Navigation

Step by step help with disability services, Social Security, and long term care, from someone who has done it for years.

Applying for disability benefits, working with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, or trying to understand Social Security can feel like facing a wall of paperwork in a language that is not your own. Hispana's director has close to twenty years of hands-on experience with these exact systems. He brings that experience to help families apply for and manage the benefits they are entitled to.

Our help is free.

Who we help

For families

For families with a relative who has a disability, we offer guidance through DDD applications, school support meetings, and the benefits process, step by step.

For adults with a disability

If an illness or injury keeps you from working, or you have had a disability since childhood, we help you understand the Social Security programs that may fit you.

For future retirees

We help people approaching retirement understand how Social Security retirement works, often for the first time, before they need to rely on it.

Programs we help with

DDD: Arizona's Division of Developmental Disabilities.
SSI: Supplemental Security Income.
SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance.
DAC: Disabled Adult Child benefits, for adults whose disability began before age 22.
Social Security retirement.
ALTCS: the Arizona Long Term Care System.
ABLE accounts: savings accounts for people with disabilities.

How we help

We help you understand each program. We explain in plain words what each program is, who can qualify, and how the programs work together.
We help you prepare and file the paperwork. We help you understand each question, gather your records, and complete your application.
We help you know where to submit it. Each program has its own office and rules. We help you send your paperwork to the right place.
We help you follow up. We help you keep track of reviews, renewals, and deadlines, and we help you read the letters you receive. If an answer comes back wrong, we help you understand your options, including how to ask for a review.
We help families with ABLE accounts. We explain how ABLE accounts work and how to open one. We do not give investment or financial advice.

What to bring and what to expect

Please bring:

A photo ID, and the Social Security number or card of the person applying.
Any letters from DDD, Social Security, ALTCS, or the school.
Medical and school records you already have.
A list of doctors, clinics, and dates of visits, if you have them.
A list of your questions.

What to expect: We will sit down with you in English or Spanish and listen to your story. Together we will look at where you are in the process and plan your next steps. Many of these processes take time. We will help you stay organized and keep going.

Our help is free. If an agency or another organization charges a fee, such as a fee for copies of Social Security records or for medical records, you pay that fee directly. Hispana is not a government office and cannot decide who gets benefits, but we can help you put your best application forward.

Let us walk this road with you

You do not have to face this paperwork alone. Reach out and tell us where you are stuck.