[Faith-talk] Bookshare

Mon May 29 20:23:51 UTC 2017

Sarah,

I can relate to what you are saying.
Congradulations on your persistance finding contract jobs.
Maybe God will lead me to such a position soon, too.
"It is very, very difficult in today's culture to locate an entry-level job 
that pays a wage one can live on, especially for people who are blind. I 
tried for several years. Every job I applied for required a driver's license 
in order to prove you could get to work. I filed an EEOC complaint against 
one employer, but after ten months the EEOC sent me a "right to sue" letter. 
Of course, I had no money to sue. "

I respond, yes and yes.
I've also tried for several years to locate entry level work and still look 
off and on.
I tried as an undergrad to get summer employment and sometimes was 
successful. I've also tried securing entry level work after college but 
barriers arise. BTW, my goals are to use my communication skills to do 
something like public relations or maybe even journalism covering soft news 
stories. But, so far, I see barriers to which you were refering to.

I've not encountered the drivers license issue as much as you, but certainly 
in too many places. For instance, I've tried to apply for a handful of 
seasonal jobs serving kids at recreation settings. You would not think a job 
add targeting college students for this work would need a drivers license; I 
thought it was just leading and supervising activities. Well, I was wrong.
The job description indicated must have a drivers license. I called and 
asked why and was it really essential. I said my disability did not permit 
me to drive. They were nice and stated that driving their small vans was 
indeed essential to transport participants. I've also seen entry level 
county jobs requiring drivers licenses to get from place to place on short 
notice.
And, before anyone thinks, use public transit, this is not a viable option 
in a big county where buses do not go everywhere.
Obviously, I cannot apply for some jobs for which I'm over qualified with a 
BA degree.

Anyways, I know what you mean of the barriers finding entry level work 
because I feel most entry level jobs like receptionist are too visual; same 
with most administrative jobs requiring filing and data entry.

Anyways, back to accessible texts and faith.
I thought a bookshare membership was only free for Hadley Institute students 
and  k-12 students.
Your message implies it is free to college students. I thought they had 
dropped that because they lost the grant.
I hope I'm wrong here.

Was bookshare helpful to you studying to be a minister? Christian sources in 
accessible form are hard to come by. I used learning ally a lot in college 
which does not have Christian material.
I've wondered how blind students get their books if in a seminary.

Glad bookshare works for you.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Sarah Blake LaRose via Faith-Talk
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 1:10 PM
To: 'Faith-talk, for the discussion of Blindness in faith and religion'
Cc: sarah at sarahblakelarose.com
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Bookshare

The student membership is helpful to many students for the reason Sandra 
mentions. Hadley, unlike most schools, is free. I am acquainted with many 
students who are either unemployed or working very limited hours while 
attempting to pay both living expenses and contribute to extremely high 
tuition costs that even scholarships do not cover. College costs have risen 
enormously since the days when I was an undergraduate in the 1990s--anyone 
on this list who attended school prior to that time can likely imagine that 
the gap is even greater. People who take out loans to pay their college 
expenses now struggle to imagine that they will ever be able to pay them 
off.

For a little perspective, I read an article this morning about a woman 
returning to school to obtain her Master's degree in order to meet 
requirements to teach kindergarten. This once required only a four-year 
degree. It is very, very difficult in today's culture to locate an 
entry-level job that pays a wage one can live on, especially for people who 
are blind. I tried for several years. Every job I applied for required a 
driver's license in order to prove you could get to work. I filed an EEOC 
complaint against one employer, but after ten months the EEOC sent me a 
"right to sue" letter. Of course, I had no money to sue.

I am 45 and after many years of persistence I have been able to locate two 
contract jobs. Neither provides a stable income. It is a frightening way to 
live and a tremendous exercise of faith. It also requires that I balance 
pride and good stewardship. When something is offered to me, it might be a 
matter of pride for me to refuse to accept it and insist on paying, 
especially if paying for it will place my family in a bad situation 
financially.

-----Original Message-----
From: Faith-Talk [mailto:faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Linda 
Mentink via Faith-Talk
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2017 12:52 PM
To: Faith-talk, for the discussion of Blindness in faith and religion 
<faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Linda Mentink <mentink at frontiernet.net>
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] Bookshare

Hi Sandra,

I meant no disrespect, and I'm sorry you are not working at this time.  It's 
a great deal for those who need or want the free subscription.

Blessings,

Linda

----- Original Message -----
From: Sandra Streeter via Faith-Talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org
To: <faith-talk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 29 May 2017 12:06:02 -0400
Subject: [Faith-talk] Bookshare

Point taken, Linda?봟ut acknowledging here that I try not to take when I can 
help it?봧t?셲 just that, once again, I am without work at this time and am 
cash-strapped, so the student membership is good to know about.  I am a 
giver at heart, but sometimes in a position where taking is necessary,  too.

Sandra

Not ?쏳evelation????tis ??that waits
But our unfurnished eyes ??
(Emily Dickinson)

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