Helen Keller Services Scores $347K Grant – Long Island Business News

The Lavelle Fund for the Blind has awarded Helen Keller Services, which has locations on Long Island and Brooklyn a $347,000 grant.

The two-year grant will be used to develop the Feeling Through curriculum, an awareness program developed by the DeafBlind community to educate state vocational rehabilitation agencies, high schools, universities, prospective employers and other service providers.

“This curriculum will directly benefit businesses, teachers, students, and other professionals or paraprofessionals who either serve the DeafBlind community or wish to become educated about DeafBlindness, helping foster a more inclusive New York City for people with disabilities,” Sue Ruzenski, CEO of Helen Keller Services, said in a statement.

“The curriculum will expand the learning agenda on diversity, equity and inclusion for all the identified audiences,” she added.

Through storytelling and other strategies, Helen Keller Services aims to build awareness about the DeafBlind.

“The Lavelle Fund for the Blind is very pleased to be able to support this project developed by our colleagues at Helen Keller Services for the Blind, in collaboration with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Doug Roland,” Susan Olivo, the fund’s executive director.

“Storytelling is a powerful medium, and engaged storytelling is a force for good as we continue on our journey towards true societal inclusion for here-to-fore marginalized communities,” Olivo added. “This is an exciting project which will allow individuals who are Deafblind to be involved at all levels, contributing meaningfully to what should become an on-going dialogue and learning experience.”

According to Helen Keller Services, the curriculum is developed to achieve several objectives, such as fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce that include the DeafBlind.  And it seeks to expand the knowledge of service providers who work with the DeafBlind.

It also aims to raise student  awareness, and highlight possible career options available in the field of vocational rehabilitation. And it seeks to “recast” professional training, including through “powerful storytelling” in video “illustrating how the diverse community of individuals who are DeafBlind experience success in their daily lives with a focus on community living, independence, communication, self-advocacy, self-empowerment, and employment.”