I lost my husband last October and for the past 10 months I have tried repeatedly to obtain surviving spousal benefits from Social Security. It has been a frustrating and time-consuming task. Processing a request for a qualified benefit shouldn’t be so hard, but the bureaucracy of the federal government proved to be insurmountable.

A friend suggested I contact my elected representatives for assistance. I called the office of Congressman David Schweikert and followed up with a personal plea to State Representative John Kavanagh. I am eternally grateful for every tweak, letter, call and text made by them on my behalf. They took the steps necessary to help me and made sure that I received what I was due. I personally learned that these two elected governmental officials truly serve their constituents!