For 16 long years, Wanda Ritter lived on the streets, but she never asked for money. Instead, she carried a note, hoping that one day, someone would stop and read it. After all those years, someone finally did—and that moment changed everything. Here’s the remarkable story of Wanda Ritter, an 80-year-old woman who spent over a decade believing that the government owed her $100,000.
Wanda’s story isn’t just about surviving homelessness. It’s about persistence, faith in herself, and never giving up hope, even when the world turned its back on her. Despite what most people thought, Wanda’s claim wasn’t some wild delusion. Every day, she repeated the same statement: “The government owes me $100,000.” She carried a suitcase full of documents and unpaid checks, yet no one took the time to listen. Instead, people assumed she was mentally ill and dismissed her claims.
Wanda’s Tough Journey
It had been 16 years since Wanda had last slept in her own bed. On the streets of Washington, D.C., she constantly told anyone who would listen that the Social Security System owed her money. However, most people thought she was just another person with mental health issues. They ignored her, never stopping to ask for more details. Wanda had once worked as a locksmith and raised four children, but now she found herself lost in the bureaucracy of the government.
Wanda often thought about giving up. “I thought about getting rid of my documents,” she admitted. “I told myself that if I did something drastic, people would just think I was crazy.” Despite her doubts, she held onto those papers for 16 years, waiting for the day when someone would believe her. That day finally came when Julie Turner, a 56-year-old social worker, decided to take a closer look at Wanda’s case.
A Turning Point: Meeting Julie Turner
Julie Turner was different from the countless others who had passed Wanda by. She stopped, listened, and took an interest in Wanda’s story. As she dug through the paperwork Wanda had been carrying around for years, she found something shocking: Wanda had been right all along. The government did owe her a substantial amount of money—nearly $100,000.
Wanda wasn’t mentally ill or delusional; she was simply a victim of a bureaucratic oversight that had cost her 16 years of her life. Julie Turner realized that Wanda didn’t need psychiatric help—she needed financial assistance.
How the Checks Were Mismanaged
For years, Wanda had received checks from Social Security, with amounts ranging from $300 to $900 each month. However, she never cashed them. Wanda believed there was a mistake with the checks and that cashing them would only complicate things further. Instead, she returned them and contacted Social Security Services, hoping to resolve the issue.
“If I had cashed them and then claimed there was a mistake, who would have believed me?” Wanda said in an interview with local reporters. Her decision to return the checks rather than cash them was her way of ensuring that the mistake would eventually be corrected.
A New Chapter for Wanda
Thanks to Julie Turner’s help, Wanda’s life began to improve. Julie found her a modest $500-a-month apartment, giving her a place to live after 16 years of homelessness. Shortly after her story gained attention, Wanda received her first check for $1,644 from Social Security. It was a long-awaited step in the right direction, and for the first time in years, Wanda could see hope for her future.
Wanda’s story is a reminder of how easy it is for people to fall through the cracks in society, even when they are owed something as basic as financial support. It also highlights the importance of kindness and persistence—qualities that ultimately helped Wanda regain her life. After 16 years on the streets, she never stopped believing in her claim, and thanks to one person’s willingness to listen, her life finally changed for the better.
