Versie's story is typical of the clients served by The Hawkins Center.  Ms. Hawkins began working as a young woman at the outbreak of World War II.  For forty years she worked steadily in physically demanding jobs while raising six children with her husband, Lee.  In 1982 while working as a nurse's aid, she suffered a debilitating back injury.  She tried to continue working, but could not.  With little savings and her husband now also disabled with a severe kidney disease, she turned to Social Security to provide the financial and medical support necessary to keep her and her family going.  Her application for benefits, however, was denied.  Thereafter ensued three years of appeals during which time Versie's back condition deteriorated and she became extremely depressed.  Finally, with the legal assistance and emotional support of Linda Mills, The Hawkins Center's founder, Versie was granted benefits in late 1985.  In going through this process with Versie, Linda realized the significant need for support services offered in conjunction with legal representation for people facing the dual hardships of living with a disability that prevents work and pursuing the bureaucratic nightmare of applying for Social Security benefits.  With Versie's persistent urging and support, Linda conceived of an agency which served these needs and founded The Hawkins Center.

Like Ms. Hawkins, most clients served at the Center have "hidden" disabilities - conditions like degenerative arthritis of the spine, heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes and depression, to name only a few.  The individual may not appear disabled, but in fact he or she cannot meet the rigors of sustained work.  Disability applicants may be treated as though their conditions are not severe and all too often are judged to be magnifying their symptoms, avoiding work or simply not trying hard enough.  As a result, many disability applicants come to feel inadequate, guilty, isolated and depressed.  Debilitating emotional disorders such as depression sometimes evolve from what were originally strictly physical disabilities.  The Hawkins Center takes the innovative approach of providing legal representation to its clients together with supportive services linking the client to available medical, social service, mental health and community-based resources .

The Center has now grown to a staff of five attorneys, a senior law clerk, a benefits advocate, two legal assistants, a social worker and two student social work interns, and four administrative staff.  Since April 1986, The Hawkins Center has represented over two thousand people on their claims for disability benefits.  In addition, the Center has served thousands of other people with disabilities through its educational and other programs.  Through our Helpline, we answer questions on a daily basis about any multitude of issues that arise concerning Social Security benefits.  We provide free assistance to individuals seeking help with filling out Social Security's many complicated forms.  We provide advice and some representation on continuing disability reviews, overpayments and benefit suspensions.  Upon request, we provide trainings, seminars and workshops to community groups, doctors and others on a variety of Social Security issues.  Our social work director and student social work interns provide crisis and ongoing referral and support services to our clients to assure that their essential non-legal needs are addressed.

The Center is primarily self-supporting through fees earned from representation on disability claims.  All support services and most educational services are offered free of charge.  Foundation and other grant support and donations were integral to the start-up of the agency and continue to be essential as we increase the range and scope of our services in our ongoing effort to meet the many demands faced by people struggling with disabling impairments.