Episode 46: A Bigger Vision for Your Life

Keith Hosey and Carissa Johnson interview Carolyn Wheeler, who simplifies the complicated and often confounding world of disability benefits. If you ever wondered how working would impact your benefits, this is absolutely the episode for you!

Helpful links:

Kentucky Hart Supported Living Program

Life Plan of Kentucky

Community Partner Work Incentives Counselor

ABLE Act in Kentucky

Disability Benefits 101 - Kentucky

Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation

Thanks to Chris Ankin for use of his song, “Change.”

The book "A Celebration of Family: Stories of Parents with Disabilities." is available from Amazon here.

Be sure to follow the Advocado Press Facebook page

Visit Appalachian Assistive Technology Loan Fund for assistance.

Visit Moving Forward, the Advocado Press blog.

Send comments and questions to [e-mail]

Demand and Disrupt is sponsored by the Advocado Press and the Center For Accessible Living.

You can find the transcript in the show notes below when they become available.

Transcript

Robotic Voice You're listening to Demand and Disrupt, the podcast for information about accessibility, advocacy, and all things disability.

Kimberly Parsley Welcome to Demand and Disrupt, a disability podcast. I am your host, Kimberly Parsley, and I am here with two special guests today for our opening segment.  Roving reporter Keith Hosey is with me. Hello, Keith. How is it going? 

Keith Hosey Hi, Kimberly. I'm well. I'm cold on this day of recording, but other than that, all right.

Kimberly Parsley Yes, indeed. And I also have with me Carissa Johnson. Hey, Carissa.  Carissa Johnson Hey, Kimberly. Kimberly Parsley And of course, Keith and Carissa have both been on the podcast. They are supporters of the pod and longtime guests and friends of our podcast. And they did a wonderful interview with Carolyn Wheeler. And Keith, why don't you tell me who Carolyn is and what you guys talked about?

Keith Hosey Sure. So Carolyn, I've known Carolyn for probably over a decade at this point, just having been in and around the small circles in Kentucky that involve various disability groups. Carolyn works for HDI at University of Kentucky and is just an all around interesting person. I tend to, there's a few people in Kentucky like Carolyn that I tend to refer as whenever you show up to a meeting, they're one of the smartest people in the room.  So, you know, Carolyn, I just enjoy discussion with her. I think it helps that we're like minded on some things like employment and benefits planning. But she really, she definitely knows her stuff and I always learn something when I talk to her. 

Kimberly Parsley I learned a lot listening to your interview with her about, oh my gosh, about the ABLE accounts that I was not aware of. Our listeners will