Elodie, Indiana

I've been on SSI since I was very young. I became sick at 16. I was never old enough to work or pay into the system, so I've been deemed to live in poverty (currently 26% below the poverty line) for the rest of my life. Due to being too sick to work, I have no credit and cannot get any loans myself, or even a credit card. 

I've been with my boyfriend since before I was sick. On SSI, not only are you unable to marry, you're also unable to "appear" married. That means no dual ownership of anything - from a car to a house, or even a loan. When my neighbors introduce themselves and ask how long we've been married, I have to interrupt and say "WE'RE NOT MARRIED" very emphatically. This makes people very uncomfortable, because they don't particularly care if we're married or not. But for legal reasons, I am REQUIRED to say this. SSI has been known to interview neighbors, so I have to be very careful.

Every time we move, I am terrified that they will decide this move is the one that shows that we're married, because we've been moving together and living together for so long. I have to list the name and SSN of every person in the household. I live my life terrified of being told that I appear too married, and that I am losing my health insurance -- not just my monthly money -- because of it.

Imagine losing possibly life saving care because you're in love, and you didn't even get to act on it.