By Tiera Daughtry and Vincent Nguyen
Bengal News West Reporters
This student
was hard to forget for Pamela Kefi, executive director of Deaf Access Services.
Not only was he a refugee and Deaf, but also he took interest in helping others
like him.
Kefi first met the
student at an American Sign Language class. The student knew American Sign
Language a little better than the rest of the students.
While Kefi assisted him with his
application for reduced bus rare, she connected with him on a deeper level. The
student the role of a case manager and advocate for people in his predicament.
“That’s
the thing we like to see. A community that helps each other and have no problem
with taking people under their wings,” Kefi said.
 |
| Pamela Kefi, executive director of Deaf Access Services, far right, and staff |
Deaf Access
Services is collaborating with Jewish Family Services and St. Mary’s School for
the Deaf and Niagara Falls’ Service Bridges to create a program that provides
services specifically for deaf refugees in Buffalo.
“Deaf refugees have not received the attention
they need in all facets of our education system, which means they are
marginalized compared to hearing refugees,” says Marlene Schillinger, president
and CEO of Jewish Family Services. “There is an added layer of complexity to
their resettlement process. Our goal and the goal of our partners is to teach (American
Sign Language) so they can find employment.”
Refugees’
first stop is at Jewish Family
Services, 70 Barker St., a non-profit health and social service provider
that has served the community since 1862. The organization provides American
Sign Language educational and job prep classes. Jewish Family Services has a
class of about 10 students. The refugees
are then transferred to Deaf Access
Services, where the refugees are assisted with resume building, job
applications and workplace etiquette.
Deaf Access Services, 2495 Main St., connects
Western New York communities of deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people using
American Sign Language through advocacy, education, employment and interpreting
skills.
“Around
2010, this agency has started to recognize refugees and immigrants in Western
New York who were Deaf,” said Kefi. “I have worked with many refugees before
coming to this agency and I haven’t witnessed any deaf refugees in the program. I noticed a
weirdly large gap. So, this agency started to take some action to serve that
community. It’s a lifelong process. We tend to work with the community forever.”
Pamela Kefi, of Deaf Access Services:
Deaf Access
Services welcomes deaf refugees and their families to stop if they need any
help with filling out an application of any sorts or help with translating
information.
While Jewish Family Services and Deaf Access Services continue
to provide for the community, St. Mary’s School for the Deaf, 2253 Main St., joined
the others to spread the services among the children and their families who may
need the services.
“We
have a lot of supports in place here at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf to help
newly arrived Deaf refugee students,” says Joy Higgins, associate principal for
St. Mary’s. “We provide an individualized approach to all of our students. We
offer sign language and parenting classes for our parents and families.
The classes are offered in Arabic, Somali, Spanish and English. We
believe in supporting the entire family.”
Wrapping up
the collaboration of services for refugees is Service Bridges, 8666 Buffalo Ave.,
in Niagara Falls where the agency fights for the
right to provide the needs and services a hearing person receives for a Deaf
Person
“As the CEO of Service Bridges, an (American
Sign Language) educator at SUNY at Buffalo and as a deaf son of two Deaf
educators, I advocate for the Deaf community,” said Jason Goldstein, CEO of
Service Bridges.
With the help from these agencies, Deaf refugees
from places such as Vietnam, Cuba, Africa, can live the same lifestyle as a
hearing person.
The collaboration’s main goal is to provide an
example for other deaf businesses to build off as the right way to handle deaf
arrivals.
