U.S. Social Security Administration

Very professional staff. Waiting is a killing but that's alright!

As an ADA [AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES], I was surprised when arriving to the Federal Building that the only Disabled Parking available was across the street. Be that as it may, I arrived in the lobby wearing a heavy winter jacket as it is cold here in Montana. I was carrying my purse, my cane, my oxygen bottle in its back-pack and my folder with the paperwork I had previously filled out and my Birth Certificate. I was gruffly confronted by the male security officer on the other side of the front counter who requested my photo i.d. I handed him my open wallet where my Montana Drivers License was clearly visible, yet he demanded I take the card out of its holder. I followed his instructions and placed the card on the counter in front of him. After he authenticated my identification, I proceeded on to the female security officer who could plainly see that I am disabled, alone and struggling. From the first, she lacked the friendliness I have come to know wherever I go in Helena and in fact was very curt, impatient and demanding with me forcing me to surrender my cane and leaving me with nothing to steady myself. She then ordered me to remove my jacket and place it in the bin on the roller table which I did. Then she ordered my purse which understandably I conceded. After this, she ordered me to remove some of my Jewelry; to which I was shocked and questioned why I needed to remove and surrender pieces of my jewelry. She simply repeated her order. I was having a great deal of challenges by this time as I am unable to stand for sustained periods and my breathing began to be hindered as I was under duress. I objected to removing my jewelry because she refused to explain why, when I lived in Los Angeles County for over 30 years and on many Military installations and never ever was forced to submit to this type of invasiveness...even in airports following 9/11! I ended up surrendering the items of jewelry noting my displeasure and confusion, to which she actually stated, “You don’t need to have an attitude with me!” Perhaps if she was kind and/or understanding of the great amount of difficulty I was obviously having being unaccompanied, I would possibly have felt differently. The truth is, that I felt like I was a criminal being booked into jail; which I have never had the displeasure of experiencing thankfully. At this point I was forced to stand for an even longer period on the outside of the metal detector for an unknown reason. I asked for my cane back to steady myself and was refused. She told me you can come through the detector and “I will help you.” I do not apologize for not wanting her to touch my person when I could have easily used my cane which had no weapon hidden within it as she had already scanned it. She refused. Then she ordered me to stand facing the street and to spread my feet on the floor. I did as she asked but due to my being without my cane would have become far too unsteady and was in jeopardy of falling. It was very clear by her sounds and manner that she was in fact angry that a person with disabilities could not comply to widen the space between my legs! She kept placing an electronic wand over part of my body over and over and then ordered me to sit in a chair approximately 7 feet away. Still without my cane, I stepped slowly to the chair and was relieved to sit down. She then ordered me to raise my right foot up and wanted me to continue lifting it higher which my disabilities prevented me from doing. She voiced her displeasure and ordered me to do the same with my left leg and reacted the same way when I was prevented from raising my leg higher than I was physically able to do. At this point, she ordered me to remove my boots. I was pretty much exhausted by this point but was in a very vulnerable position and so I struggled to remove my boots and handed them to her. The details continue but will not fit here. My advice: If you are an ADA, Do Not visit the Federal Building on any account alone!n◦

Set your appointment in advance, and no waiting time.

Because my mail has not reached me yet, my paper license is no longer valid at this plqce, so I can no longer get into the federal building for business or commerce needs.

Just like any other government entity plan on waiting !