Story Archive

Reality Check

An 80-year-old woman lived on the streets of Washington, D.C., for roughly 16 years. In her bags, she claimed, she had proof that the government owed her upwards of $100,000. She would call Social Security and write letters. She would ask people who work with the homeless to help her get her money, but they would instead refer her for mental health services, she said. In better times, Wanda Witter, 80, had refused to cash checks the agency had sent her for figures she didn’t believe were accurate; once she was homeless and tried to get even wrong checks, the agency had given up on trying to send money to a woman with neither an address nor a bank account. Eventually, however, a social worker took on her case, and helped her get a lawyer. Now she’s gotten her first check for the amount she’s supposed to get — $1,464 — and her lawyer says she should get $99,999 soon, and perhaps more later. (AC/Washington Post) ...Sometimes, what sounds crazy is actually true.