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Ineko,<div><br></div><div>I\u2019m glad you are a member of the deaf blind division of The NFB, And I did not think you were simply being smart in your response about the cancellation of Hartplus trips. </div><div><br></div><div>All I would like to do is ask you what do we need to do as a chapter so that you can attend the meetings in person if that is what you want to do. </div><div><br></div><div>Take care,</div><div>Barbara</div><div><br></div><div><br><br><br><div class="yahoo-signature">Sent from AOL Mobile Mail</div><br><p class="yahoo-quoted-begin" style="font-size: 15px; color: rgb(132, 115, 255); padding-top: 15px; margin-top: 0px;">On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, 1:38 PM, Ineko Gary via NFBF-Tampa <nfbf-tampa@nfbnet.org> wrote:</p><blockquote class="iosymail"><div dir="ltr">I am part of the NFB DEF LINE Division. And they always reach out to all the=<br clear="none"> deaf blind members to see what kind of access we need.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">I always tell them I need the sign language because my friend comes over at a=<br clear="none"> certain time to do textile sign language. Meaning that handover hand.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">She watches the interpreter on the screen, and then she will sign the meetin=<br clear="none">g in my hand.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">That=E2=80=99s how I also do when I have doctors appointment all the interpr=<br clear="none">eters. I have no tactile, sign language handover hand. I will put my hand ov=<br clear="none">er my interpreter=E2=80=99s hand and they would sign normally. And then when=<br clear="none"> it=E2=80=99s my turn to talk, I will just sign and interpreter will watch a=<br clear="none">nd tell the doctors what I=E2=80=99m saying.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Yes, there are a few reasons I stopped going. Certain members would always t=<br clear="none">ell others how much I can. I can=E2=80=99t see which is not their business. T=<br clear="none">hey don=E2=80=99t know me and my loss of vision. Because they=E2=80=99re not=<br clear="none"> my doctors<br clear="none"><br clear="none">And that I am also deaf in both ears, and with hearing aids, turned up to th=<br clear="none">e max I can pick up just a few words and so that=E2=80=99s how I knew when p=<br clear="none">eople would say to other people or wear a certain person would say to the on=<br clear="none">e woman that was on the bus that I could see more than what I=E2=80=99m sayi=<br clear="none">ng, which is unreal<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Why I stopped going to meetings and went back to my JW For The DEAF cause th=<br clear="none">ey all do sign language. We have the fully hearing and fully decided that no=<br clear="none"> sign language. We have the deaf and severely hard of hearing no sign langua=<br clear="none">ge. And I am the only deaf blind in the congregation. And they all enjoy hav=<br clear="none">ing my Guide dog Frisco.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">And they do not walk up to me or judge me on what I can=E2=80=99t see. Or my=<br clear="none"> hearing and my vision. Because they know that is wrong in Jehovah=E2=80=98s=<br clear="none"> eyes.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Also, when I had mentioned about letting HART plus they like it is, we=E2=80=<br clear="none">=99re calling out two hours ahead me and my friend thought it was a good ide=<br clear="none">a. We wasn=E2=80=99t being smart or mean. We was just saying that if you=E2=80=<br clear="none">=99re able to ride the city bus go ahead and cancel two hours ahead of time a=<br clear="none">nd just catch the city bus. We was not being me or smart. Alec whoever told u=<br clear="none">s that yesterday.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">I as a deaf blind person who is totally blind and the left eye and losing vi=<br clear="none">sion or lost a hunk of vision. We only have light shadows and the red eye. W=<br clear="none">e noticed a bunch of totally blind men and women rides the city bus. With th=<br clear="none">eir long white canes.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">That=E2=80=99s why I only suggested that or no Not being a smart Alec or bei=<br clear="none">ng mean.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">So that=E2=80=99s why when Miranda was president I decided to stop coming an=<br clear="none">d go back to the JW for the DEAF.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">When I was there, I was just there like what=E2=80=99s going on in a meeting=<br clear="none">. I will purposely record the meeting and then send a recording to my sister=<br clear="none"> and then she would text me to let me know what was being said. Or I would d=<br clear="none">o the recording When someone was free. Let them hear it and then they would t=<br clear="none">ext me on what was being said.=20<br clear="none"><br clear="none">That took too much time and too long.<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">Again, I am part of the deaf blind, Division and the president over there se=<br clear="none">nt out a group email on who needs sign language, who needs close caption. An=<br clear="none">d who needs a transcript. I explain to the president, even though I cannot s=<br clear="none">ee the screen and the person signing. Sometimes my friend would come over an=<br clear="none">d tactile the meeting. I told her the president that she just volunteers her=<br clear="none"> time to come to my house and copy the interpreters on the screen since she n=<br clear="none">o sign language even though she=E2=80=99s not an interpreter she does know s=<br clear="none">ign language because she=E2=80=99s a coda so she learned through me how to d=<br clear="none">o tactile sign language and she only does it for me.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">> On May 20, 2025, at 12:45=E2=80=AFPM, Barbara Gaw via NFBF-Tampa <nfbf-tam=<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:pa@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:pa@nfbnet.org">pa@nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> =EF=BB=BF Good afternoon,<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> I=E2=80=99m sending this email to everyone because I think we should all b=<br clear="none">e part of this conversation.<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> Ineko, I apologize for not ever, bothering to ask why you had quit coming t=<br clear="none">o the meetings. Maybe you told others, or maybe you kept it to yourself. Sti=<br clear="none">ll, I should have reached out to you. I had wondered why we didn=E2=80=99t s=<br clear="none">ee you at the meetings, but I=E2=80=99m sorry I never asked.<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> Now I would like to ask the leaders of our NFB chapter if what Ineko=E2=80=<br clear="none">=99s friend has told her is true. I am aware that there is a deaf, blind div=<br clear="none">ision as a part of the NFB, but that doesn=E2=80=99t solve the problem of ho=<br clear="none">w we can have people who are deaf, blind attend our meeting and be able to p=<br clear="none">articipate in person. Is it true that we can=E2=80=99t afford an interpreter=<br clear="none"> for the two hours that we meet once a month? How can we feel comfortable ha=<br clear="none">ving social outings if we exclude people due to accessibility issues? Has an=<br clear="none">ybody ever bothered to find out how much that would cost?<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> The bottom line to be is, if we say the pledge every week about how we wan=<br clear="none">t to advance and raise up our lives to be what we want them to be. How can w=<br clear="none">e exclude other members of our group for lack of accessibility?<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> If we are truly to be stronger together, then that means everybody.<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> Barbara Gaw<br clear="none">>=20<br clear="none">> Sent from AOL Mobile Mail<br clear="none">> _______________________________________________<br clear="none">> NFBF-Tampa mailing list<br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org">NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org</a><br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org</a><br clear="none">> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBF-=<br clear="none">Tampa:<br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/rubiigary%40gmail.=" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/rubiigary%40gmail.=</a><div class="yqt4910466394" id="yqtfd24882"><br clear="none">com<br clear="none"><br clear="none">_______________________________________________<br clear="none">NFBF-Tampa mailing list<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org">NFBF-Tampa@nfbnet.org</a><br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org</a><br clear="none">To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBF-Tampa:<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/gawberg%40verizon.net" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/gawberg%40verizon.net</a><br clear="none"></div></div><blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></div>
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