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Klamath Falls resident tells commissioners Social Security denials, disability risks contributed to homelessness
Summary
Wren Shockey, a longtime Klamath Falls resident, told the Board of County Commissioners that repeated Social Security denials and a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have left them in chronic pain, unable to work consistently and facing housing insecurity.
Wren Shockey, a Klamath Falls resident, addressed the Klamath County Board of Commissioners during the public-comment period and described difficulties securing disability benefits and the consequences for housing and daily life.
Shockey said they moved to Klamath Falls at 17 and later developed chronic pain from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects connective tissue and mobility. Shockey said they applied for Social Security in September 2022 and recently received a third denial.
"A judge said you're too young, you don't deserve to get $550 a month. It's pretty devastating," Shockey said. They described volunteering at a church soup kitchen when able and said that volunteering was cited against them in the disability review.
Shockey said they believed the Social Security Administration's substantial gainful activity standard allows work up to about 20 hours a week without disqualifying disability benefits when earnings are insufficient to support independent living. They said the denial and resulting financial limits leave them unlikely to own a home, unable to access parental Social Security benefits in the future, subject to asset limits and possibly dependent on Section 8 housing.
"It's pretty rough," Shockey said. "There 'are plenty of people who fall through the cracks. And when you look at the amount of people that are homeless in Klamath Falls, a lot of those people can't work. A lot of those people got screwed over by SSA in the exact same way."
Shockey's remarks were given during the public-comment period and did not prompt formal action by the board in the recorded meeting. The transcript records no substantive response by commissioners to the remarks beyond brief procedural thanks following public comment.
