High-functioning disabled adult, U.S.A., trying to avoid homelessness - first appointment with case worker today. Advice?

My significant other and I are trying to plan to move to a different city. I have never lived in a different city before, and I am nervous as all my medical resources have been here in my home city. We are both disabled, both of us with fibromyalgia and some severe mental health disorders. I have been hospitalized 3 times for depression and have never been able to hold a job. I've dropped out of college twice due to my health. I have applied for disability but was denied, and ironically enough I could not go through the appeal process because of a flare-up. My SO is similar - he had to leave college and move back in with his parents when he could no longer be in school or be employed because his mono triggered the fibro. We are 28 and 30 years old.

I have been homeless in the past because I cannot care for myself financially. Sometimes I can work, and sometimes I can't. We are trying to move cities in order to go to college and hopefully finish our degrees - also, student loans are my sole source of income right now. I can't work while I'm in school, but hopefully if I can pursue what I am passionate about I can find a work-life balance. We are about to be on our way to meet with a case worker at the college in the new city, and I was wondering if anyone has any insight they could offer me on how I should use this appointment.

My appointment with the college's case worker is only 30 minutes long and I want to be able to use this limited amount of time as efficiently as possible to get whatever help there is for us. I feel like some of the problem is that I don't know what there is out there to help us. Advice? Tips? Share your story?

EDIT: I hate to use the term "high-functioning" but I feel like it was the most efficient way to relay my circumstances. I changed my mind and wanted to remove it from the title but it seems that editing my post doesn't allow me to edit the title, unfortunately. When I say "high-functioning," I mean that I appear to be perfectly healthy, even though the reality is full of brain-fog, low blood pressure, and body pain and stiffness. People don't see how much work I put into just getting by with the very basics and I "pass" as being able-bodied, which has really been detrimental to my wellfare because I tend to not receive the care I need.

Posted Jun 4, 2019, 3:37 PM UTC · edited

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