Hackensack's homeless Samaritan loses benefits over $850 he found and turned in
Source: Bergen Record
James Brady, the formerly homeless man who earned national praise for turning in $850 he found on the street in Hackensack, learned the hard way this week that no good deed goes unpunished.
Brady was denied General Assistance and Medicaid benefits by the Hackensack Human Services Department through Dec. 31 because he failed to report new income he received. The income, according to the agency, was the cash he found on Main Street last spring and that police returned to him in October after no one claimed it.
... Brady, a former news photographer and market data analyst, fell on hard times more than a decade ago when he became unemployed and suffered from depression. He was supposed to be at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 for a business event — and the knowledge that he could have been killed traumatized him, he said.
... Brady has an appointment with Legal Services of New Jersey on Tuesday and hopes someone there can help him restore his benefits. As a frequent advocate for the homeless population in Hackensack, Brady said he also hopes that the department will be more sensitive toward clients.
Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Hackensacks_homeless_Samaritan_loses_benefits_over_850_he_found_and_turned_in.html?page=all
= new reply since forum marked as read
If you don't report income, it's fraudulent, and you lose benefits. Anyone who is shocked by this is less-than-familiar with the system, shall we say.
Heaven forbid, we can't help people who commit fraud can we? Corporations, sure, but people? Heavens, no!
-Laelth
