"Patrice: The Movie" Follows Couple Who Want to Get Married, But Risk Losing Disability Benefits – See Trailer (Exclusive)

09/18/2024 08:30 AM

"Patrice: The Movie," billed as a "documentary romantic comedy" begins streaming Sept. 30 on Hulu

A New Jersey woman's fight for disability rights in the center of a powerful new documentary out on Hulu this month.

Patrice Jetter, a school crossing guard, wants to marry and live with her partner Garry Wickham, who is also disabled. But, as the couple finds out, there's a catch: two people receiving Social Security disability benefits or Medicaid lose their financial support if they get married or live together. 

This battle, which the film calls the "next phase of marriage equality," is the focus of Patrice: The Movie, out on the streamer Sept. 30 — and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer.

"I want to get married," Jetter tells a crowd in the trailer. "I want to be able to live in the same house as my spouse."

Related: Sisters Create Dating App to Give People with Disabilities, Chronic Illnesses a 'Safe Space' to Find Love, 'Feel Seen'

Garry says, "They can stop us from getting married, They can stop us from living together, but they're never going to stop us from loving each other."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"If you are lucky enough to find the person you want to be with, but if you're disabled and collect Social Security or Medicaid benefits, you have to choose between being with your partner and your own survival," filmmaker Ted Passion, who has known Patrice for 30 years, said in a press release. "Not only can't you get married, but you can't even live with your partner. And so the fight for true marriage equality in this country is not over."

But despite the scrutiny the couple faces, they forge ahead with a commitment ceremony, per the film's synopsis. But while trying to find the money for the ceremony, Patrice's wheelchair-accessible van "breaks down and without it, she is forced to quit the job she spent years fighting for." 

Related: Montana High School Students Design Toy Car for Child with a Mobile Disability: 'Hugely Positive'

"She has to figure out the impossible task of how to replace her van when she can't have more than $2,000 in her bank account as a condition of the disability benefits she relies on," according to the film's description.

Added Passion, "Patrice's story is unfortunately very common. We're telling a very ordinary story but through the lens of a person who is, herself, completely extraordinary."

Patrice: The Movie, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, begins streaming Sept. 30 on Hulu.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.