Do you have retail experience and knowledge of the products sold at our Adaptations Store? The LightHouse is looking for a part-time sales associate who will take the renowned customer service reputation of our store to the next level. Go here to get the details:
http://lbvi.staging.wpengine.com.com/about/careers/adaptations-sales-associate-3/
The Castro Lions and the San Francisco Park Presidio Sunset Lions are cohosting a Crab Feed to benefit a host of charities including LightHouse for the Blind, AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
When: Saturday, February 9. Cocktails at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner and dancing between 7 and 10:00 p.m.
Where: St Anne of the Sunset at 850 Judah St. at Funston (easy transportation on the N Judah line)
Cost: $50.00 per person, Special Guest Appearances TBA
Buy your tickets at 1-800-858-5006 or go to BrownPaperTickets.com.
The Department of Rehabilitation is seeking nominees to serve on the Blind Advisory Committee.
The Blind Advisory Committee provides advice to the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) on means to increase competitive employment, enlarge economic opportunities, enhance independence and self-sufficiency, and in methods of improving services for persons who are blind or visually impaired. The committee develops, in conjunction with stakeholders, an annual work plan to identify and address areas for improvement in services provided by the division to persons who are blind and visually impaired.
The DOR Director-appointed committee consists of a diverse membership interested in, and representative of, Californians who are blind or visually impaired. The DOR Director appoints representatives of specified entities to a four-year term.
All qualified applicants are urged to apply. Applications must be received no later than February 15, 2013. If interested, please contact Brian Connors at 916-558-5380 or brian.connors@dor.ca.gov.
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC) is asking for individuals to take its new online survey on emergency communications. The survey questions address emergency services, public alerts and warnings, and social media use during emergencies.
The Wireless RERC conducted this survey once before, almost two years ago. Because technology is changing so rapidly and new government rules are being implemented, RERC think it’s the right time to conduct the survey again. The data will be of great interest to regulatory authorities and other professionals working to improve emergency response and disaster relief for people with disabilities.
New to this version of the survey is the inclusion of a question for the respondent to identify if he/she is a caregiver. In this way, the RERC hopes to collect data on the caregiver experience as it relates to emergency communications technologies and behaviors, as well as the experiences of individuals with disabilities.
Take the Survey on Emergency Communications and People with Disabilities
Come kick off the new LightHouse Youth Programs with an attempt to “fly” at the San Francisco House of Air. With the assistance of some top flight House of Air instructors, you will jump, bounce, flip and possibly “fly.” The hour-long lesson will start with the basics of safe jumping and falling, which will then be followed by learning basic acrobatic and aerial maneuvers. Blind and Low Vision youth (ages 6-16) and transition-aged youth (ages 16-24) are welcome to attend. Our “fly” time on Sunday, February 17th from 1:00PM to 2:00PM. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Youth Service Coordinator James Gump at jgump@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7372.Space is limited to 10 people so please register early!
The Paciello Group (TPG) is carrying out a mobile accessibility survey which will be available until the end of January 2013. The survey is a simple 15 question survey that takes just a few moments to complete. Input is being sought from people with disabilities or people using assistive technologies on a mobile device.
Mobile technology is a new and thriving frontier for accessibility. Seasoned accessibility professionals are anxious to help mobile developers deliver accessible experiences. More information is needed to understand both usage patterns and hardware/software platforms, to guide decisions to meet the needs of people with disabilities who use mobile devices.
This survey has been created in an effort to start gathering this data. Tabulated findings will be publicly available to help mobile authors and accessibility professionals better serve the mobile accessibility community. A few moments of your time today will help developers make better informed choices as we move forward.
Applications are now available for the 2013 Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities (YLF), held July 22–26 in Sacramento. This program is provided to accepted students with disabilities at no cost. YLF is an annual five-day leadership program that provides information and resources about employment, education, independence and assistive technology. For more information or to apply click here.
On December 14 LightHouse celebrated the holidays by taking a short trip around the world. The celebration included Rabbi Mark talking about the mitzvah of lighting the candles on Chanukah, Christmas Caroling, traditions of the Virgin de Guadalupe and Dias Las Posadas, a Kwanzaa Presentation, a holiday Chamber Music Performance of Oboe and Flute, and Buddhist chanting to celebrate Bodhi Day by members of the American Buddhist Cultural Society). Our clients, staff and friends learned and discovered the true meaning of the holiday season!
On December 12th, LightHouse was the beneficiary of Northern California Human Resources Association’s (NCHRA) holiday networking social/silent auction at Bin 480 restaurant in the San Francisco Marriott-Union Square.
LightHouse Executive Director/CEO Bryan Bashin – joined by Employment Immersion Program Director (and former NCHRA Board Member) Kate Williams – stressed the importance of not only recruiting qualified blind and low-vision job candidates, but of making job application materials fully accessible to all jobseekers. The silent auction that evening raised more than $2,200 for LightHouse. A huge thank you goes out to NCHRA!
Although the LightHouse has been providing training and support to persons who are deaf-blind for over twenty years, we’ve recently taken on our biggest initiative yet. The new program helps deaf-blind individuals receive equipment which will give individual’s accessible means to connecting with friends and family via texting, email and telephone.
Response for this program has been overwhelming, in a good way. We have received to date 98 approved applications from persons who are deaf-blind throughout California, and we are now working on ensuring all applicants receive an assessment to match equipment with their specific needs and skills. For some this equipment might be a computer with enhanced monitor and magnification software to access email; for others it may be a note taker with braille display, an iPhone with portable braille display or an IPad for texting.
For most, the solution is easy and straightforward, for others creative solutions are engaged, and in some cases, we find that there still is not the right technology for the individual. What we do know is that individuals with good braille reading and writing skills have more options, and can get their equipment sooner – how’s that for incentive to learning braille! Once the technology is determined, funding also pays for limited training on using the communication aspects of the new the new device.
This successful start to the program could not be accomplished without Sook Hee Choi, the LightHouse Deaf-blind Specialist, and our partnership with the Southwest office of Helen Keller National Center, specifically Cathy Kirscher and Ilona Mulvey.
If you are a deaf-blind Californian (age 15 and over), and low income, you may qualify for this pilot program (eligibility is established by the FCC). Please email dbeinfo@old.lighthouse-sf.org to receive an application. If you are a new applicant (applications received after December 21st), it is important to note that due to the demand, there is about a 1-2 month wait to fully process new applications, complete equipment assessments and finally receive equipment. This wait for free equipment however, does not stop you from applying and we look forward to hearing from you!
