Denver – Society for the Blind in Sacramento and Blind Institute of Technology ™ (BIT) in Colorado are joining forces to create a new pathway for employment of people living with blindness or visual impairment. Both organizations are driven by the ultimate goal of full independence for people who are blind and visually impaired (BVI), which makes this a natural pairing.

BIT’s sole focus is employing BVI professionals in corporate America, placing them in positions on par with their education and skill level, through networking, education and workforce development. Society for the Blind is taking on the challenge of employment with its primary focus placed on providing people who are blind or visually impaired with the tools they need to attain employment and independence. The two forward-thinking organizations will pull their resources together to achieve the goal of significantly decreasing not only unemployment, but the underemployment epidemic that plagues professionals who are blind or visually impaired.

“For far too long, blindness organizations across the country have approached the unemployment epidemic amongst the blind and visually impaired in a siloed fashion, which has done nothing as evidenced by the same unemployment rate as 30 years ago when the ADA was passed. It is time to end the epidemic and put BVI professionals where they belong, in mainstream corporate America. I am super excited to be collaborating with a progressive leader like Society for the Blind and look forward to the impact we will make together.” Mike Hess, BIT executive director.

“It is so important for blindness organizations like Society for the Blind to be creative and really make a difference in the employment opportunities for people living with low vision and blindness. I believe that collaborations allow us all to do more and be more effective, and that is why I am thrilled to be partnering with BIT. Working together, I believe we can truly move the needle on the rate of employment in a positive direction.” Shari Roeseler, executive director, Society for the Blind.

By leveraging relationships built with its corporate partners, emphasizing workforce development and accessible technology, BIT strives to put its talented, corporate-ready professionals in the best possible position for success. BIT works with disability inclusive Fortune 500 industry giants across the country, placing professionals in all aspects of business, including IT, finance and operations, earning a median salary of $70,000 a year. For those candidates who have the technical aptitude but lack relevant certifications, the BIT Academy offers opportunities to achieve the training and certifications that help them to be competitive, such as its Salesforce Administration Certification Prep course. BIT is an authorized Salesforce training provider for people with disabilities.

Society for the Blind is the Sacramento region’s only comprehensive training and rehabilitation center serving people who are blind or have visual impairments. Serving 27 counties in northern California, Society serves nearly 6,000 people impacted by vision loss or blindness each year through its Core Blindness Skills programs, a Low Vision Clinic and other supportive services and programs. In 2018 Society for the Blind established the CareersPLUS program in an effort to address the high unemployment rates among people with vision loss. In the past three years, more than 65 people have found employment and/or pursued college and vocational training through the CareersPLUS program. Society for the Blind is an authorized provider of employment services for the State of California Department of Rehabilitation.

To learn more about the two organizations, visit their websites at www.blindinstituteoftechnology.org and www.societyfortheblind.org.

Denver, CO – The Blind Institute of Technology (BIT) and Activate Workforce Solutions have formed a partnership to advance their shared goal of achieving sustainable employment for underrepresented individuals, a first of its kind collaboration that is truly inclusive to all.

While BIT focuses on employment for professionals with disabilities, Activate works with individuals who have faced situational or long-term poverty, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, and homeless. Many of Activate’s clients are referred from work-experience or educational programs. The common thread is that all clients are seeking perpetual, meaningful employment to enhance their quality of life and to become contributing members of society but too often lack the employment opportunities because of their differences.

The two organizations will combine their expertise in talent acquisition and talent development to deliver a comprehensive workforce solution through career-readiness preparation, skill enhancement and post placement coaching. Read the full article from Activate Workforce Solutions >>

The following information was compiled by a member of our BVI community – Jodi Witthaus. Jodi is a Rehabilitation Counselor with the State of Colorado and has her Master’s in Social Work. With the unprecedented circumstances surrounding COVID-19, many people may be struggling with trauma. We hope this information will help.

Trauma

What is the definition of trauma?

There are three types of trauma: 

1.  Acute Trauma: results from a single incident.
2. Chronic Trauma: repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence and abuse.
3. Complex Trauma: exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive interpersonal nature.

Vulnerability: more likely to be emotionally harmed or attacked.

What are the biological effects of trauma on the brain?

• Not everyone will experience the same symptoms or the same brain changes, but there are observable changes that can be tracked.
• Responses to trauma can be immediate or delayed, brief or prolonged.
• Most people have intense responses immediately following and often for several weeks or months after.

Responses include:

1.  Feeling anxious, sad, or angry.
2. Trouble concentrating or sleeping
3. Continually thinking about what happened

If these responses are interfering with everyday life or are not getting better over time it is time to get professional help.

What is PTSD?

• Traumatic stress is a normal response to traumatic events. However, PTSD is much more severe and usually takes place after violence, combat, or natural disasters.
• Your brain is equipped with an alarm system that normally helps ensure your survival. With PTSD this system becomes overly sensitive and triggers easily. 
• The parts of the brain which control memory and thinking stop functioning properly.
• The amygdala triggers your alarm system. This creates your fear response and keeps you safe. With PTSD this is overactive and simple actions can make you panic.

What is happening in the brain with trauma and PTSD?

• Amygdala: Triggers your body’s natural alarm system by sending a signal that causes a fear response. The amygdala is an ancient, primitive part of your brain that is wired to ensure survival, so when it is overactive, it is hard to think rationally.
• Prefrontal Cortex: Helps you think through decisions, observe your thinking, and helps you realize when something that at first glance seemed like a threat is not a threat after all. It helps to regulate emotional responses triggered by the amygdala.
• An overactive amygdala combined with an underactive prefrontal cortex creates a tornado: your natural alarm system is frequently triggered, and you are less able to regulate the emotional responses that follow.
• Hippocampus: The memory center of the brain. It works like your computer does as it writes files to the hard drive. After a trauma, all of your information does not get coded properly, and it might have trouble remembering certain details. This leads to you thinking a lot on the traumatic event, because your hippocampus is trying so hard to remember what actually happened.

What are the signs that someone needs help?

1. High levels of anxiety, fear, or sadness
2. Crying often
3. Having trouble thinking clearly
4. Having frightening thoughts or flashbacks (reliving the experience)
5. Resentfulness or irritability

Who to call if you need help:

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor if you’re feeling anxious and lonely. It’s free and available every hour of the day, every day of the week.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (equivalently, 1-800-273-8255). The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, and prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones.
• Concerned About Someone on Social Media? You can contact safety teams on the social media outlet who will reach out to connect the person with the help they need.

Resilience

What is resilience?

• The ability of individuals not to succumb to adverse experiences, or what we think of as bouncing back. This is the typical response to adversity. 
• Not a personality trait, but it is a skill set involving behaviors, thoughts, and actions that anyone can learn and develop over time. It’s like building a muscle.

What are the four core components of resilience?

1. Connection: Don’t isolate. Surround yourself with loved and trusted ones, and allow them to help.
2. Physical Wellness: Take care of your body.
3. Healthy Thinking: Practice mindfulness and prioritize activities like meditation.
4. Meaning: Find purpose by helping others, volunteering, or supporting a friend or loved one.

Resilience in a pandemic

• Many of us may find ourselves asking, “What can I do about Coronavirus?” If the problem seems too big, break it down into manageable pieces. Spend an hour doing any activity unrelated to the virus. Work on you!
• Recognize the silver linings: after disasters, people reported better relationships or a greater sense of strength, even while feeling vulnerable.

Coping

How do you cope with trauma?

• Spend time with loved ones and trusted friends who are supportive.
• Try to maintain normal routines for meals, exercise, and sleep.
• Practice those cooking and baking skills!
• Get outside if you can do so safely – nature does wonders for our mental health.
• Find human touch if you can do so safely.
• Avoid alcohol or drugs.

Remember, this is not forever!

Sources:

Missouri Department of Mental Health

dmh.mo.gov/

dmh.mo.gov/healthykids/providers/trauma

National Institute of Mental Health | Coping with Traumatic Events

nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/coping-with-traumatic-events/index.shtml

BrainLine | How PTSD Affects the Brain

brainline.org/article/how-ptsd-affects-brain

American Psychological Association | Building Your Resilience

apa.org/topics/resilience

This year’s Diana Ferguson Diversity and Inclusion Champion believes employing professionals with disabilities is a win/win solution.

Raymond Stover is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MyCallCloud and Founder of BPO Edge. In 2017, a customer approached him with a unique problem: the customer was looking for a contact center to help with customer satisfaction surveys, but larger centers weren’t interested in the smaller projects. Around that time, the Denver Post ran an article about Mike Hess winning the Martin Luther King, Jr. Business Award for his work with BIT. It caught Raymond’s attention, and he reached out to Mike. After learning more about BIT and BIT’s mission, Raymond thought he may have a solution to both issues.

One of the biggest issues facing contact centers is employee retention. Companies spend thousands on training just to have the employee not show up to work. Blind and visually impaired (BVI) professionals’ rate of unemployment is more than double that of their non-disabled peers. Why not dip into this untapped pool of talent to solve the retention issue in contact centers? “BVI are smart, talented, possess great listening skills and are loyal,” says Raymond. “It’s a win/win.”

Raymond went to his partners with his solution. In order to make the project work, they had to adjust the current software to make it accessible. Raymond and his partners, all self-proclaimed nerds, jumped on the challenge and without much effort, adapted the software. It turned out this wouldn’t be the only customer who needed their accessible software. They brought on another account who already had BVI working for them. Their accessible software was a perfect fit!

“Raymond has been a phenomenal advocate,” says Mike. “He was willing to make the move right away and go to his partners and clients and make the value case.”

“I am humbled by the award,” comments Raymond. “I’m just a regular guy doing the right thing and finding solutions.”

A Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Champion turns talk into action. They are dedicated to supporting an accessible and inclusive environment, creating a diverse workforce that showcases the value of employees with disabilities. Len Beasley, Senior Accessibility Designer for Aetna, a CVS Health Company, is such a person.

When Aetna’s product design team decided they needed a leader on their team who had the background and passion for creating accessible products, they turned to Len. Len was instrumental in bringing in BIT candidates to help with their accessibility needs. With the team already impassioned for integrating accessibility into all its products and designs, they were quick to jump on what BIT had to offer. To date, of the six blind or visually impaired professionals brought into the Aetna fold, five have converted into full time employees, one of whom is now Len’s boss. “I love what she’s going to get done in 2020,” says Len.

The success of the team has inspired Aetna executives, who are now leading the charge in promoting accessibility and inclusion on teams from the top down. Their support has helped with budgeting and ensuring the product design team is consulted when integrating accessibility into all products. 

In true Champion fashion, Len was surprised and humbled by the award. “I wasn’t intentionally out to produce big results,” remarks Len, “I was trying to solve smaller problems because they were important to people I know.”

While Len was wondering “Why me?”, Mike thought it was an easy choice. “It takes someone to have a lot of sometimes uncomfortable conversations with all levels of a corporation,” says Mike, “It was refreshing to see someone like Len who was willing to continuously have those conversations about the value the BVI employees were bringing to the workplace and the products they are designing.” Len’s words of reflection after winning the award are a good lesson for other leaders. “I’ve thought a lot about it over the last year as I go about business and I’ve realized a couple of things: little things go a long way. A simple comment in a meeting can be built on to include more people in the work to make everything better – even if the meeting isn’t about D&I. Truly changing a culture to be more D&I, needs diverse people in your work weekly. There are way too many benefits to list – but not having them in your work means you’re missing something vital to whatever your doing and is often seen as lip service to your team members and your customers.”

By Mark Vivien, Chairman of the Board, Blind Institute of Technology

At Softchoice’s Annual Sales Kick Off a few weeks ago, there were the usual conversations and trainings around strategy, new offerings, team alignment, and of course the celebration of our 2019 successes.

What we did not expect was the company focus on “the power of being human and inspiring.” In the keynote delivered by DearWorld.org, they shared amazing, real-life examples of the impact that is possible when we live and experience life, lead, and interact with others from a human and inspiring core.

What If

This had me think about the February 8^th Dining in the Dark fundraising gala, that I am part of hosting, for the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT). We hope to raise as much money as possible to fulfill our mission of reducing the unemployment epidemic for people with disabilities by preparing them, and the employers who hire them, for success in the workplace. However, the long-term fulfillment of our mission is not ultimately dependent on organizations and individuals making a financial contribution from time to time.

The success of the gala and every activity we do on a day-to-day basis is ultimately measured by our ability to influence others to:

• Help others to understand the human story behind why BIT exists, how the employment epidemic impacts our candidates at the most basic of levels, and what makes our candidates uniquely qualified.
• Take the time to truly understand everyone’s story – how it drives, motivates, and influences us – how it drives why we show up every day – as a friend, sister, brother, parent, salesperson, engineer, coworker.
• Create a world where we develop relationships, make judgements and decisions based off of being genuinely human and inspiring

Can you imagine the impact the gala will have for BIT, our attendees, and the lives everyone touches if the gala drives us to live and experience life based on this core?

I surmise that the unemployment epidemic for those with disabilities stems from the lack of knowledge on how to:

• Understand why accessibility is a reasonable accommodation and sometimes an inexpensive solution.
• Understand that many job application portals and recruiting tools are not accessible to all job seekers.
• Understand that people with different abilities come to the interview with unique strengths, many of them invisible at first, that can benefit your team and your company.
• Understand how those labeled as “disabled” can truly solve many of the problems hiring managers face, such as low unemployment rates and frustrating high turnover.

Personal Introspection

Am I coming from a human and inspiring core as a technology and services salesperson or am I just focused on the next sale?

I am most successful and fulfilled when I take the time to understand the real story behind my customer’s business priorities, the impact on their customers, and the impact on the specific team I am working with. It is amazing how much technology can unleash the potential of people when you understand the real, full story.

One of my customers and his wife adopted three children from China with disabilities. The youngest is blind. Thanks to understanding his story, I connected with him as a father, not just a customer. Thanks to BIT, I  introduced him to our Executive Director where, with his wife, they were able to talk about the challenges of raising a blind child and how to help make sure she was prepared to succeed because of her disability instead of in spite of her disability. Talk about a truly beautiful and inspiring moment. That experience gave me a new sense of worth, and I hope to continuously serve others similarly.

Call to Action

So, my call to action is simple.

For the next 90 days, take the time to live life, aim to become more human and inspiring. And share with me how you were able to positively impact the lives of others and how you felt afterwards as a result.

By Cala Estes, Director of Candidate Services, BIT

At BIT, we work by the motto that reasonable accommodation is a technology solution. What isn’t a technology solution these days? One of the barriers we aim to clear is this myth that reasonable accommodations have to be complicated or expensive for an employer. In fact, for a totally blind employee, many reasonable accommodation solutions don’t have to cost anything at all! As a professional, there are several tools I use on a daily basis to get the job done. Let’s take a look at some of these tools and how they have served as a reasonable accommodation for me.

NVDA

Released in 2006, this free, open-source screen reader was developed with the mission that every blind individual should have access to the PC. Rather than expensive alternative options, any user can download NVDA for free onto a Windows machine or even run it off a USB drive as a portable version. NVDA is available in fifty-four languages, and it doesn’t need any special system requirements to run.

They always say, “You get what you pay for.” In this case, that doesn’t hold true. NVDA is supported by a team of dedicated developers who are constantly working to keep the screen reader on the cutting edge. In my own professional history, there have been times when NVDA has worked better than paid alternatives. When I needed to query a mainframe database, NVDA did the job. When I work in Google Drive here at BIT, NVDA handles some of the newer web elements without the lag and lack of response I get from other software. Looking to make your office workstations accessible to totally blind employees? Give NVDA a try.

VoiceOver and TalkBack

It never fails. When I’m in a rideshare using my phone, the driver always asks me, “So how does your phone work? Is it like a special phone that does braille?” In fact, both iOS and Android have built-in screen readers that come standard on the devices. All the user has to do is turn it on. There’s no extra cost, no subscription fee. It is accessible tech that has been built into a mainstream device. I tell the drivers, “Nope, it’s just a normal phone that talks.” The solution is as simple as that.

There is a stereotype that people, especially the younger generations, are glued to their phones these days. At BIT, my phone is half my office. Running Salesforce, LinkedIn, meetings, calendars and mail, my phone serves as my mobile command center. Mobile apps are often streamlined for use, so there’s less unnecessary data or cluttered user interface slowing down my productivity.

Seeing AI

Released for the iPhone in 2017, this app by Microsoft uses artificial intelligence to describe text, documents, photos, and translate barcode information to blind users. The app has an integrated money identifier and light level indicator as well. The app is free to download, and can recognize blocks of text in real-time without the need to take a picture first.

This has been a game changer for me. Not only can I find lights left on at home, but I can read mail and figure out what that mysterious can is in the pantry. I have used Seeing AI to great effect in the office when a computer’s speech failed to load in order to determine what was happening on-screen. Stacks of printed papers become accessible, and I’m able to organize and file them independently by aiming my phone’s camera at the text on the page. The app even has limited ability to read handwriting; useful when co-workers leave sticky notes on my cubical.

Braille Labeling

If you’ve seen a print label maker before, braille labeling works the same. The device and tape are available from mainstream shopping websites at low cost. When BIT moved into our working space at The Alliance Center here in Denver, the building management staff went to work with the braille labeler they had on hand. Cabinets were labeled with their contents. Trash and recycle bins were tagged. You can use a braille labeler to make labels for office microwaves with touch screens

Braille labels come in most handy with filing and hard copy organization. They can be stuck to divider tabs or file organizers to help keep track of print documents. The label tape is easily peelable, so it can go directly onto paper and be carefully removed later. The label maker itself features both braille and print for an inclusive user experience.

Fillable PDF Forms

If your company has an Adobe Acrobat license, did you know that you can turn inaccessible paper forms into user-friendly fillable electronic forms? From the “Tools” menu, select the “Prepare Form” option, and Adobe will attempt to scan and automatically. This doesn’t always yield the best results, so there are options to tag and label the form fields by hand. Deque University has a great online course showcasing techniques of how to prepare a fillable form with accessibility standards in mind.

When I worked in Human Resources, filling out forms was most of my job! My company was already using fillable forms to some degree in order to go paperless. My hire just expedited the process. I was able to independently fill and sign forms with no need for printing or scanning. There was no handwriting involved. I typed in data, checked boxes, and added my signature without the need for sighted assistance. At that time, we used smart cards with imbedded digital signatures, but I also have the option of keeping an image of my signature on file to paste in. Isn’t technology neat?

The takeaway is that technology options are vast and flexible. Accommodations will look different for each employee. You might see me with my phone in hand a lot because I’m trying to scan a document. My screen may be dim because the glare hurts my eyes. I may have earbuds in at the office so the whole floor doesn’t have to hear my screen reader chattering away. Each employee will know what accommodations work best for them and how to set them up.

Answers to Common Employer Questions

Will you need a special laptop?

Some employees might need an ergonomic keyboard or keyboard overlays with high contrast coloring. They even make large print keyboards. I use a typical keyboard. I guess all those home row typing lessons in school came in handy! In general, your standard computer can run whatever assistive tech is needed or hook into external devices.

Can you use a normal desk phone?

Yes. I took some time to memorize all the buttons. The number 5 on the keypad of most phones has a raised dot to help with orientation. We also used an integrated softphone system which was mostly accessible. This would flash the caller ID onto my computer before I picked up the handset.

How do you hear a customer and your computer at the same time?

There are a couple options. One is to leave one earbud in while wearing a wireless one-ear headset mic for the desk phone. Another is using bone-conducting headphones which sit over the ear rather than inside. There are a myriad of tech configurations. Hearing a screen reader is so second nature to me that I’ve learned to split my focus.

Blind people have super hearing, right? Does the office need to be extra quiet?

While each individual will have different needs and preferences, noise was never an issue for me. There are various types of earbuds and headsets to suit whatever noise canceling is required. There are even advanced headsets that let the user control what frequencies of outside ambience come through!

How do I know if a blind employee will be able to work with my company’s software?

The answer here is user testing from someone who uses assistive technology on a regular basis. There are tips and tricks built into screen readers to navigate around inaccessible elements. Most standard office applications present little issue since accessibility standards are in place for these companies. Proprietary applications can be a challenge, though I’ve been surprised at what I’m able to problem-solve around.

As I’ve demonstrated, reasonable accommodations don’t have to be as scary and costly as you may think. Best practice is to rely on the expert – your employee. Most professionals with disabilities know what works best for them, so let them tell you what they will need from you to reach maximum productivity!