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http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/14377661.htm
The program has moved its operations to League for the Blind and Disabled.
On Monday, DeafLink, a 16-year-old program that serves area deaf and hearing-impaired people, moved its headquarters to the League for the Blind & Disabled, according to David Nelson, the league’s president.
“We’re excited about the transition,” Nelson said, “and we have been in the process of working with the deaf community to see what their concerns are and what positive changes they’d like brought about. People who are blind and sight-impaired are very different as individuals, but they united to obtain changes in tax laws and Social Security disability rules that benefit them.”
Kim Drake, editor of the newsletter, “What’s Up,” which serves the area deaf community, is excited about the collaboration.
“The league has accomplished so much for the deaf community in the one month we’ve known them,” Drake said. “David Nelson has made himself available to listen to us about our concerns.”
DeafLink’s beginnings date to 1989, when Switchboard Inc. applied for and received a state grant to serve area deaf and hearing-impaired people. In 1990, interpreter Cindy Dodzik became the first program manager of the newly christened DeafLink. Dodzik remained at the helm until 1993, when DeafLink left Switchboard and moved to AWS, where it remained for 13 years.
To coincide with the move, DeafLink will put new people in three positions – full-time sign-language interpreter, part-time interpreter scheduler and part-time case coordinator, said Nelson, who is learning sign language.
Because of the certifications required, Nelson said the jobs won’t be easy to fill.
“These are hard people to find, so we’ve begun a job search, and encourage the public to help us get the word out as we look for a full-time interpreter, and to encourage the interpreters that we work with to give DeafLink a chance,” he said. “We’re going to need help from a power greater than ours to pull this off.”
The move will allow DeafLink interpreters to control how much time they get to interpret, rather than being directed by a third party.
“There’s a lesson here – we will have differences but it is possible for people to unite around the things that they do have in common while accepting the differences that they might otherwise have,” Nelson said.
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Interpreters needed
Call Nancy Gasparani at the League for the Blind & Disabled at 1-260-441-0551, or e-mail her at deaflink_@yahoo.com.
Deaf forum
What: Meetings to identify issues that the area deaf community wants to address, and ways to tackle them.
When: 6-8 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month.
Where: League for the Blind & Disabled, 5821 S. Anthony Blvd.
For more information: Call 1-260-441-0551.
The program has moved its operations to League for the Blind and Disabled.
On Monday, DeafLink, a 16-year-old program that serves area deaf and hearing-impaired people, moved its headquarters to the League for the Blind & Disabled, according to David Nelson, the league’s president.
“We’re excited about the transition,” Nelson said, “and we have been in the process of working with the deaf community to see what their concerns are and what positive changes they’d like brought about. People who are blind and sight-impaired are very different as individuals, but they united to obtain changes in tax laws and Social Security disability rules that benefit them.”
Kim Drake, editor of the newsletter, “What’s Up,” which serves the area deaf community, is excited about the collaboration.
“The league has accomplished so much for the deaf community in the one month we’ve known them,” Drake said. “David Nelson has made himself available to listen to us about our concerns.”
DeafLink’s beginnings date to 1989, when Switchboard Inc. applied for and received a state grant to serve area deaf and hearing-impaired people. In 1990, interpreter Cindy Dodzik became the first program manager of the newly christened DeafLink. Dodzik remained at the helm until 1993, when DeafLink left Switchboard and moved to AWS, where it remained for 13 years.
To coincide with the move, DeafLink will put new people in three positions – full-time sign-language interpreter, part-time interpreter scheduler and part-time case coordinator, said Nelson, who is learning sign language.
Because of the certifications required, Nelson said the jobs won’t be easy to fill.
“These are hard people to find, so we’ve begun a job search, and encourage the public to help us get the word out as we look for a full-time interpreter, and to encourage the interpreters that we work with to give DeafLink a chance,” he said. “We’re going to need help from a power greater than ours to pull this off.”
The move will allow DeafLink interpreters to control how much time they get to interpret, rather than being directed by a third party.
“There’s a lesson here – we will have differences but it is possible for people to unite around the things that they do have in common while accepting the differences that they might otherwise have,” Nelson said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interpreters needed
Call Nancy Gasparani at the League for the Blind & Disabled at 1-260-441-0551, or e-mail her at deaflink_@yahoo.com.
Deaf forum
What: Meetings to identify issues that the area deaf community wants to address, and ways to tackle them.
When: 6-8 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month.
Where: League for the Blind & Disabled, 5821 S. Anthony Blvd.
For more information: Call 1-260-441-0551.