October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. For many people like me who are blind, it's a time to reflect and appreciate the opportunity to work.
I'm 47 and have been legally blind since birth, which is why I'm grateful for laws like the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act that help address the nearly 70 percent unemployment rate for people who are blind. Because of this act and my employer, IFB Solutions in Little Rock (formerly Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind), I've been able to work my whole life.
Our three locations in Little Rock, and in Winston-Salem and Asheville, N.C., make IFB Solutions the largest employer of people who are blind in the United States. We provide employment, training and services for people who are blind and visually impaired. Nonprofits like ours exist to allow people like me and my coworkers to pursue careers and live more independently.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas has the second-highest population of people who are blind in the nation. That's why it's so important to recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month and the opportunities that are now provided for people like me.
Prior to working at IFB Solutions, I worked 17 years as a dorm parent with my alma mater, Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. For the past eight years, I've worked at our Little Rock location as a machinist, making bandolier pouches for the military that hold ammunition, and flight deck shirts for usage on aircraft carriers. My team and I make hundreds of each per day.
As a child, I learned to ride a bike and play sports, but working someplace like IFB Solutions enables me to maintain an important level of personal and financial independence. My family and I have also fostered children who are blind or visually impaired. Having vision challenges shouldn't keep people from pursuing a career, a hobby or any goal in life.
Similarly, IFB Solutions fosters independence by providing jobs for people who are blind, and offering training and services. One of those services available to the public is our Community Low Vision Center. Here, we connect people who are visually impaired with technologies that allow them to maximize their remaining sight and regain independence.
One of my favorite pieces of technology is JAWS, a talk-to-text computer software program that allows me to surf the Internet and shop online with ease. Other innovative technologies include talking watches and portable magnifiers, the latter of which you can use to magnify labels, bills, menus and the like.
A unique community program offered by IFB Solutions is our Sensitivity to Blindness training designed to help people who are sighted better understand how to interact with people who are blind. In many ways, this program enables us to recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month year-round by encouraging dialogue about the importance of employment and independence for people who are blind or visually impaired.
If you are blind or are interested in learning more about our programs, I encourage you to come tour our facility on Murray Street in Little Rock. It will definitely be a memorable experience.
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Rob Fagan has served on the Arkansas Independent Living Council for the past six years, and was appointed to the Arkansas Rehabilitation Board in June 2015. He and his wife, Sherrie, have one son, Cameron.
Editorial on 10/27/2016