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JCIL thanks businesses who employ deaf workers | The Jackson Sun | jacksonsun.com
The Jackson Center for Independent Living Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services invited local businesses to its second appreciation luncheon Wednesday in celebration of National Deaf Awareness Week.
Local officials, business owners and employees nibbled on the prepared lunch while they watched organizers talk and sign through a presentation of resources, myths and statistics about understanding the deaf and hard of hearing.
"I think it's important for the community to understand that just because a person is deaf, it doesn't mean they can't be independent," Executive Director Beth James said.
Organizers continued a tradition started last year in thanking businesses and employers who support the deaf community by educating the larger community and employing deaf workers.
Scott Gatlin, an assistant production manager with Toyota Boshoku and Denso Corporation, was one of the business representatives who attended.
When asked why he attended Wednesday's luncheon, Gatlin said, "Because we have Adrian."
Adrian Jones is an air element and molding worker with his company. He scribbled his name and job title on a sheet of folded paper that Gatlin took from his pocket.
Jones signed with other attendees and interpreters throughout the lunch, while organizers explained the art of interpretation.
"A lot of people think we're interpreting for the deaf," Amy Cone, deaf services coordinator, said. "Quite honestly we're the interpreter for the hearing, too."
She said, during the presentation, that she hoped to dispel myths that hiring deaf people is excessively costly and that people who are hard of hearing are less intelligent.
In the deaf culture, English is a second language, Cone said, so it might not be an area of strength.
"But it is not a reflection of their intelligence," Cone said.
"Deaf people can do anything except hear," Cone said.
Emergency Management Agency Director Marty Clements said training first responders and other emergency workers to interact with deaf and hard of hearing people is essential to safety. He said officers may be screaming at someone, not realizing that the person is deaf.
"It's a little bit of a barrier there," Clements said.
He strongly recommended sign language courses and training while advising people who are hard of hearing to remain mindful of their surroundings.
"I support what they do here at JCIL tremendously," he said.
The Jackson Center for Independent Living Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services invited local businesses to its second appreciation luncheon Wednesday in celebration of National Deaf Awareness Week.
Local officials, business owners and employees nibbled on the prepared lunch while they watched organizers talk and sign through a presentation of resources, myths and statistics about understanding the deaf and hard of hearing.
"I think it's important for the community to understand that just because a person is deaf, it doesn't mean they can't be independent," Executive Director Beth James said.
Organizers continued a tradition started last year in thanking businesses and employers who support the deaf community by educating the larger community and employing deaf workers.
Scott Gatlin, an assistant production manager with Toyota Boshoku and Denso Corporation, was one of the business representatives who attended.
When asked why he attended Wednesday's luncheon, Gatlin said, "Because we have Adrian."
Adrian Jones is an air element and molding worker with his company. He scribbled his name and job title on a sheet of folded paper that Gatlin took from his pocket.
Jones signed with other attendees and interpreters throughout the lunch, while organizers explained the art of interpretation.
"A lot of people think we're interpreting for the deaf," Amy Cone, deaf services coordinator, said. "Quite honestly we're the interpreter for the hearing, too."
She said, during the presentation, that she hoped to dispel myths that hiring deaf people is excessively costly and that people who are hard of hearing are less intelligent.
In the deaf culture, English is a second language, Cone said, so it might not be an area of strength.
"But it is not a reflection of their intelligence," Cone said.
"Deaf people can do anything except hear," Cone said.
Emergency Management Agency Director Marty Clements said training first responders and other emergency workers to interact with deaf and hard of hearing people is essential to safety. He said officers may be screaming at someone, not realizing that the person is deaf.
"It's a little bit of a barrier there," Clements said.
He strongly recommended sign language courses and training while advising people who are hard of hearing to remain mindful of their surroundings.
"I support what they do here at JCIL tremendously," he said.