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== '''Agency Overview''' ==
*[[Tri County Agency Overview]]
**History
**Mission
**Serviced Offered




'''''History'''''
*[[Tri County Types of Work]]
**Types of Jobs available


The Tri County Association for the Blind opened in 1921 as a non-profit organization designed "to improve the quality of life for people who are blind and visually impaired by helping them achieve their full potential and maximum independence."  Nancy Pew is identified as one of the most pivotal people to have
had an influence on the establishment of what was then named the Dauphin County Branch for the Blind.  The first jobs offered at the agency for people with seeing disabilities included cleaning, weaving, and fabricating braided rugs.  In 1943, the association changed it name to the Tri-County Association for the Blind, which included Cumberland and Perry Counties.  In the following year, the association took over eye clinics which were run by Junior Red Cross.  The agency became a member of the United Fund of Harrisburg, now known as the United Way, in 1955.  In 1985, the location of the agency moved from 2nd and South Street to its current location today: 1800 North Second Street, Harrisburg, PA. Recently in 1998 United Way celebrated its 75th anniversary.  Today the organization has over 1,300 chapters around the world; however Tri County was one of the original five chapters. 


'''''Mission'''''


The mission statement for Tri County is written as, "The Tri-County Association for the Blind works to improve the quality of life for people who are visually impaired in the Tri-County region of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry Counties. By helping each person achieve his or her full potential and maximum independence, our consumers flourish within and enrich our communities. In addition, the Association provides prevention of blindness services to the public."
*[[Tri County Community Issues]]
**Clients / Member
**Cultural Assumptions
**How we can solve these problems


'''''Services Offered'''''


<i>Access Technology:</i> This service includes any machine or program that helps those who are blind or visually impaired work easier with a computer (i.e. speech synthesizers, Brailling machines, and enlarging and brightening texts on a computer screen).  The Association's program teaches those who are blind or visually impaired how to use these machines.  It also allows people to become involved in a network that discusses new products and problem solving techniques. 


<i>Production Facility:</i> Tri-County pays people with seeing disabilities, who might find it problematic to find employment elsewhere, to perform various tasks, which include packaging, assembly operations, mail preparation, pen production, chair mat production, transcribing different documents into Braille, etc.  A variety of companies can benefit from this service, including both small local businesses, and large corporations. 
*[[Tri County Agency]]
**Problems the agency faces
**Potential ways to overcome the problems


<i>Radio Reading Service:</i> Audio tapes are recorded, and the blind are able to borrow numerous books on tape for their pleasure.  Similarly, the radio reading service broadcasts the news and other information for those who are blind or visually impaired and may not have access to otherwise.  The ''Patriot-News'' is read daily, as well as local magazines, such as ''Central PA, Harrisburg Magazine'' and ''Reminisce.''


<i>Social Services:</i> This service contains many different aspects that are meant to help facilitate life for the blind or visually impaired.  The services include: in-home services, life skills education, counseling and support groups, transportation and escort, and information and referral.  Recreational activities are also offered which include activities such as: playing cards, attending plays, dancing, and getting together for meals. 


<i>Fundraising:</i> Tri-County sells Blue Mountain Jar Candles for $10 each.  The candles come in over fifty different scents, and all of the proceeds go towards different ways to help people with seeing disabilities. 
*[[Tri County Mosaic of Experiences]]
**Samples from Pre-Service Reflections
**Excerpts from Service-Learning Journals
**Samples from Post-Service Relections


<i>Prevention of Blindness:</i> Tri-County provides preschool vision screenings, and educates youth and their parents on maintaining healty eyes and ways to prevent eye injuries.  Tri-County also works to help children and adults who need corrective eyewear but cannot afford it. 


----


== '''Types of Work'''==
*[[Tri County Relevance of Fiction Reading on Experience]]
**Motherless Brooklyn
**What's Eating Gilbert Grape


There are a few different types of work that Tri County Association for the Blind offer.  They offer jobs for blind and slightly mental disabled members of the Harrisburg community along with many different social services.  Many of the members of Tri County work in the manufacturing section of the organization. The manufacturing section of the organization makes various writing utencils, like pens, pencils and hilighters, and also cuts the plastic mats that are places under office chairs to allow for easy mobility. This is the area of the organization that many of the blind members work in.  The organization has made different tools that allow blind workers to manufacture the products without the help of someone else. There is also a radio station anchored at the center, on which employees of the Association read multiple news papers and magazines, making it easy for people who cannot see to have access to the daily news.  The radio station is run by a visually impaired young man, who is extremely skilled in his work.


Tri County also has Carpet Installation Services.  This section of the organization is employed by many of the slightly mentally disabled member of the organization.  Tri County offers a complete carpet installation; from measuring your floors to actually installing the carpet.


== '''Community Issues'''==
*[[Tri County Relevance of Non-Fiction Reading on Experience]]
**Extraordinary Bodies




-'''''Clients and Members'''''-
The Tri-County Association for the Blind not only employs those with eye-sight and other disabilities, but they also service them.  Members are able to come in for counsiling, group meetings, and various items that make living life day to day with blindness easier.  People with visual impairment are also given consideration for jobs at the Association, both at desk jobs and also in the production room.


Not all that is done at the Association benefits the seeing impaired, although they do receive newsletters.  The Association also manufacturers items for government agencies such as the mayor's office and prisons as well as packaging foods for airline companies.  There are many members and workers at Tri-County with no disabilities at all.
*[[Tri County Related Links]]


'''''Cultural Assumptions'''''


Society as a whole seems to find it easy to judge people who have disabilities, even those who are afflicted with something as superficial as poor eyesight.  Although it is generally easier for someone who is blind to lead a relatively "normal" life as opposed to someone with a more debilitating disability, there is still ubiquitous evidence that people with blindness are still not treated as equals in many cases.  The blind are not given jobs, which many are fully qualified for and when they are employed, they are often given positions for which they are, in fact, over-qualified. 
*[[Tri-County Association in the News]]
   
People who are blind are confined to a world where they are forced to rely heavily upon all of their other senses.  Much of society assumes that since people who are blind do not have their sight, that there are other relevant functions that are absent as well.  Many people who are blind had their sight at one point and were able to lead the normative existence which society believes the blind lacks.  The majority of people who are blind are completely self-sufficient, despite their condition.  However, because blindness is considered to be a disability, they are at times treated as though their mental capacity is negatively affected as well.


'''''How We Can Solve These Problems'''''


Society can solve the problem of rashly judging people based upon their physical appearance by simply understanding that disabilities are not synonymous with being helpless.  This assumption is the result of countless years of naivete and cannot easily be eradicated, regardless of its simplicity.  People who do not have an understanding of the nature of blindness would benefit from merely speaking to someone who is blind or taking some sort of proactive measures to learn more about the condition.  One will find that many of the cases of blindness are comprised of those who are legally blind, but still have some sight.
*[[Contact Information for Tri County]]


People who are blind can, for the most part, do the same jobs as those with sight can.  The blind hold positions such as teachers, writers, and doctors(http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/02/seeing.no.limits.ap/index.html).  It is the actual act of understanding that being disabled does not equal incapability that is difficult for some people to reach.  Being immersed into a sub-culture of people with disabilities (regardless of how major or minor the disabilities may be) is an important step to understanding more about the nature of disability itself and the people who have disabilities.




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[http://itech.dickinson.edu/wiki/index.php/Dismodern_Body:_Prof._Kupetz Back to The Dismodern Body Page]
 
== '''The Agency''' ==
 
'''''Problems the Agency Faces'''''
 
Danette Blank, Executive Director at Tri-County, identifies the association's main problem as sources of funding for the agency.  "We always need more money," she stated, "especially since the government on both the state and federal levels has cut our funding."  The Tri-County Association for the Blind faces many expenses, which it depends on government funding, or donations to help pay off.  For example, rent of the building, operating/utility costs, and wages all need to be paid.
 
More importantly, the Association needs funding in order to maintain the services which it offers to those who are vision impaired.  Many people who are either gradually going blind, or who are already blind, rely upon the agency not only for the material aids which it provides (such as magnifying glasses, Braille books, scented candles/aromatherapy, etc.), but they also rely upon the social support as well.  This support system upon which the members of the Tri-County Association rely, is a valuable resource.
 
Additionally, while many of the employees at the Association have their full sight, even more are visually impaired.  They are able to work at the Association, while many businesses will not give them jobs, simply because of their handicaps.  The agency needs to be able to pay their wages in order to keep valuable employees who are able to provide insight into their blindness to any potential members.
 
'''''Potential Ways To Overcome the Problems'''''
 
One ideal solution to overcome the problem of a lack of funding for Tri-County is to make citizens more aware of Tri-County's existence as an agency in an attempt to earn more donations, or to ask the most loyal donors for more money.  Creating more fundraisers in an attempt to earn more sponsors is probably the most likely and efficient answer.
 
Another solution would be an employee reduction, but this of course would be one of the last resorts since one of the biggest services Tri-County offers people with seeing impairments is employment.
 
 
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== '''Mosaic of Experiences''' ==
 
 
'''''Samples from Pre-Service Reflections:'''''
 
-Excerpt from Amanda's:
I’m truly at a loss as to what to expect from my forthcoming service-learning experience at the Tri-County Association for the Blind. On one hand, this particular assignment appears as though it would perhaps be easier than the others. For the most part, the average person is more “comfortable” with a person with visual impairment than they are with someone with another form of disability. Blindness does not seem as taboo of a subject as, for instance, schizophrenia or something of the like. Society tends to view people with mental disabilities as being “crazy” and as far from the “normate” as one could possibly stray. People with blindness are not viewed in the same light.
However, on the other hand, blindness is not something I have ever had to deal with personally; I don’t even know anyone who is blind. This aspect of the work I’ll be doing with the Association is exciting, because I will be exposed to something that I really don’t know that much about, even as prevalent as blindness is.
 
-Excerpt from Jackie's:
While walking through the organization, it was apparent that some of the people working there were enjoying their job, were joking, and laughing; however there were a few people that seemed as if they were uncomfortable with us there. I hope that it does not become and problem.  I understand that some people can be uncomfortable when new people enter a controlled environment; I hope that we do not make these people uncomfortable.  It is important to feel comfortable with your environment.  There is also one other issue I feel may come up.  Because we are only working once a week, I think that it may be harder for some people to open up to us.  On our orientation there as one man who was very open and talkative about how he became blind and how he copes now.  However I don’t think that most people working will be as open and vocal about their disability.   
 
-Excerpt from Vonna's:
Coming into this experience, I thought that our job would be to help blind people with tasks that they had difficulties doing, but after orientation, I shamefully realized that I had underestimated their capabilities, and I now know that my service hours will be more of an opportunity to spend time with them and learn how they experience life.
 
'''''Excerpts from Service-Learning Journals:'''''
 
-Excerpt from Rachel's first visit:
I am not sure how to relate my first experience at the association with my own life since we weren’t fully given the opportunity to help those that were in need. In that moment, though, I could still look around the production site and realize what lives these people have led. Some of the workers were stationed at the “pen production area” and you could tell that although this was such a humdrum job, they took it seriously and didn’t stop until the clock struck 4:00. Realizing how lucky I am to be a healthy, young woman.
 
-Excerpt from Alicia's first visit:
The woman with whom I spent my two hours working alongside was Linda. Linda is in her early forties and an extremely fun lady to be around. She was born with a condition where the nerves in her eyes are not controlled and thus she could see, but could not control where she was looking. Now, she is completely blind in one eye and can only make out small images from the other. It was interesting how she expressed that having been able to once see and now unable to was probably the most difficult part about being blind, since she has to relearn and readjust to everything in life. As we sat there for two hours I truly enjoyed her company but the task became extremely mundane and under-stimulating, I cannot imagine boxing pens all day along, everyday. I felt extremely sorry for the employees, not simply because they were blind, but because this is the type of work they have been engaging in day after day, most of them for years. Linda was very open about her disability and told me it is extremely hard to find jobs when you are disabled, especially blind. Also, she talked about the low wages they receive and how many of the disabled (and non-disabled) are losing their jobs to people overseas and in Mexico who will work for lower pay. At this point I just wished I could say something encouraging, but the truth is I do not know if that is ever going to change and honestly I wish it would, but it seems the CEOs and people in charge care more about making their billions even if it means people are making five cents an hour and some in our own country are left with out work.
 
-Excerpt from Lisa's second visit:
At one point, Andrew, asked us what our majors were. When Caroline told him that she planned to major in Psychology, and possibly become a psychologist, he responded by saying “oh we would be great patients for you.” I found this to be a very interesting statement, and now that I think about it I find that it relates to the reading by Lennard Davis, “Constructing Normalcy.” Generally, people visit psychologists for a psychological problem, so for Andrew to claim that he would be a good patient reflects the fact that people with disabilities are not “normal.” The idea of what is “normal” has been constructed to create “problems” with those who have disabilities. Andrew cannot see, there is nothing mentally wrong with him, and I think that if he truly believes he needs to see a psychologist, then that is sad.
 
-Excerpt from Jackie's second visit:
For most of our time at Tri County this week Amanda, Alicia and I were working together and not interacting with anyone else.  A few people came over and said hi, however that was it.  It wasn’t until our last 15 minutes that we were able to have some interaction.  Having worked with John before, I knew some things about him.  For basically those 15 minutes we talked about music and about his trip he is taking to Texas in two weeks.  Whenever John talked about music he always gets very excited and tries to tell you everything he can about it.  I think that it is awesome that he loves music that much.  He says that he can feel the music and the vibrations that the speakers give off when he listens to it.  It really makes me think what my life would be like without having my sights and relaying so much on my other senses. 
 
-Excerpt from Caroline's second visit:
When we arrived at the Tri-County Association for the Blind, I was nervous because I did not know what to expect. The previous week I did not get a chance to really interact with the blind workers, and was hoping to get a chance to this week. When Diane told us that we would be working in the production area I was glad, however our first task was putting labels on envelopes and we were segregated from the other workers. I got a chance to interact with the workers when we were packaging cookies. It was awkward at first because the three people Lisa and I were working with all had headphones on and were listening to music or books on tape, so we could not have a conversation. When the supervisor came out to make an announcement, they took off their headphones and this gave me a change to ask the woman I was sitting next to what kind of music she was listening to. We talked about all different kinds of music, her children, what she likes to do on the weekends, etc. The next hour and a half flew by because we were all talking and getting to know one another. One thing that really struck me while I was working there was when one of the women came up to me and said, “How would you like to do this all day, everyday?” This question really caught me off guard, and I did not know how to respond. It was clear that in her asking the question, she did not want to be there. I tiptoed around the answer because I did not know how to respond.
 
'''''Samples from Post-Service Reflections:'''''
 
-Excerpt from Amanda's Post Reflection:
Every time we were actually able to interact with the workers, I can honestly say that I believe that there was a reciprocal relationship between us. Not only were the workers helping us understand their condition and life better, but also we were able to act as an outlet for them to talk about their blindness. It is amazing how open they were all willing to be, and how much they were able to share in such a short amount of time. Because they understood that we were not there to judge them, the workers were able to talk about a lot of the things that bothered them about their current condition. Aside from the fact that many were never able to live their lives like “normal” people do (or at least how they believe that normal people do), I found that the biggest source of discomfort for them was that they were not treated as equals. One woman told me that she liked us because she didn’t feel as though we were “thinking mean things” about her and the other workers. We were able to become close to them and listen to them, even if only for a couple hours, while we helped them with their work for the day.
 
-Excerpt from Charlotte's Post Reflection:
There is an endless list of the problems the visually impaired face in a “normative” society. Their impairments prohibit them from participating in many of society’s standards for a normal life. Something as simple as watching television or reading the newspaper is a frustrating, if not impossible task for members of this community. Employment, too, creates a difficult situation for the visually impaired. Requiring special computers with audio programs and Braille printers, the visually impaired are not ideal employees both productively and economically. The Tri-County Association for the Blind helps to overcome these obstacles for the visually impaired. Hearing aides and audio programs are provided to the community. Also, by employing those with the impairments, the Association allows them to fully function within the working world.
Throughout the semester we have been discussing the presence of the impaired within a “normal” society. In Motherless Brooklyn, Lionel, was labeled as “freakshow” because his Tourettes differentiated him from others. In Fat, the fat man is described only as such—society is only concerned with his physical appearance, thus stripping him of his humanity. Through my experiences at the Tri-County Association for the Blind, I have learned that the visually impaired, too, are restricted in society, as their physical impairment overwhelms their identity.
 
-Excerpt from Vonna's Post Reflection:
The TriCounty Association provides a setting where people who are blind can work and interact with those who are and are not visually impaired.  It has both a fundamental and social aspect because it is somewhere people who have disabilities can work and somewhere they can go to play bingo.  The times that I have been there, the atmosphere has been very relaxed and conducive both to forming relationships with co-workers and getting their jobs done.  From what I have witnessed, the people who work there truly enjoy their jobs because they provide the employees with a source of income and they promote interaction and relationships among everyone at the Association.
 
-Excerpt from Rachel's Post Reflection:
People like John with various impairments face many problems in “normative” society. Many individuals believe that those who are disabled are inherently stupid, incompetent, and useless. Obviously, this is a false perception of those who suffer from impairments such as blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. Every day people with impairments have to get up and face a world full of cynical people who are more likely to write them off as hopeless rather than accept them into “normative” society. The Tri-County Association for the Blind gives people with impairments a job and hope for a better and successful life. Employing the disabled, the association opens its doors to those who would normally be shunned from the world of employment that someone without a disability would be accustomed to. Every day life for people who suffer from various impairments is ten times harder than someone who is walking around with a mere cough or cold. Life is a struggle every second, minute, and hour of every day for people who are stricken with impairments. Tri-County does its best to make the workplace more tolerable and welcoming for those with impairments.
----
 
== '''Relevance of Fiction Reading on Experience''' ==
 
'''''Excerpts from Service Entries that describe the relationship between our fiction readings and our volunteer work:'''''
 
<i>Motherless Brooklyn</i>
 
-Excerpt from Vonna's Journal Entries:
When Todd and I were talking about previous places of employment, he mentioned that he used to be an Assistant Produce Manager at a grocery store near his house. This, coupled with his expression that he found his current job mundane helped me see that just like Lionel in Motherless Brooklyn and all people who are disabled, Todd is capable of much more than people without disabilities give him credit for. Many times in Motherless Brooklyn, people treat Lionel like he is less intelligent than someone who doesn’t have a disability, and I got the indication from my second volunteer experience that people like Todd have faced situations like this also.
 
-Excerpt from Rachel's Journal Entries:
In relation to our discussions in class, this experience brought to me a new perspective at how hard Lionel had to work to prove his position as a detective in Motherless Brooklyn. The disabled workers at Tri-County Association for the Blind work extremely hard at what they do in order to prove themselves as competent employees. Like Lionel, every employee has to work extra hard in order to establish rank within the organization. I just thought it was interesting to see the comparison between the real life situation as opposed to the story told on the page.
 
-Excerpt from Charlotte's Journal Entries:
Looking back at this experience, I am reminded of Motherless Brooklyn. As I read the novel, I found it strange that the people Lionel interacted with accepted his Tourettes so readily. I was always distracted by his symptoms and found it hard to understand how the other characters did not seem mind his outbursts. By working with the woman at the Tri-County Association for the Blind, I am beginning to understand that the disability does not define the person. I enjoyed talking with her, as I gradually became more comfortable interacting with her.
 
<i>What's Eating Gilbert Grape</i>
 
-Excerpt from Caroline's Journal Entries:
While working at the Association, the mailman came and Jim asked me to tell him who was at the door. After the mailman left, Jim explained to us that sometimes people come into the building and are disrespectful. They try to take advantage of the fact that the workers are blind. I found this to be horrifying. It is hard to believe that people would actually do this. It led me to think back to our class discussions of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and how Gilbert would lift kids up to the window to make a mockery of his mother. The fact that people come into the building and take advantage of the blind workers is related to this example, because they too are making a mockery of the workers at the Association.
 
== '''Relevance of Non-Fiction Reading on Experience''' ==
 
'''''Excerpts from Service Entries that describe the relationship between our non-fiction readings and our volunteer work:'''''
 
<i>Extraordinary Bodies</i>
 
-Excerpt from Amanda's Journal Entries:
I’m not sure that I can really relate this to anything we have read, since I dont have any experiences at the Tri-County Association this week to draw from. I almost wonder if maybe the people from the Association who give us work to do have been misinterpreting our intentions and thought we merely wanted to help out with the Association as a whole and that we didn’t want to have the interaction with the other workers. If this is a possibility, maybe they think we feel uncomfortable around the workers because of their disabilities, in which case they would feel as though they were helping us to “avoid anomalous things” (35) through segregation, as suggested by Mary Douglas in her concept of dirt from “Extraordinary Bodies". That it the only excuse I could possibly think of for them not allowing us to have any interaction at all during this past visit.
 
-Excerpt from Alicia's Journal Entries:
What most related to many discussions we have had in class was the fact that Linda told me how she felt extremely disrespected by many people who come into their work. “People think just because you can’t see or you have a vision problem that you have something wrong mentally, or an impairment in the head,” Linda said. I thought this directly related to many of the stories from class and points made about how “normal” people view the disabled. If people are not exactly how one thinks the norm should be, one often looks down on people or treats them as un-human. Since Linda once could see and lived her life just as the norm does and now cannot see and live the way she used to it proves how easy it is to become part of this group. Often in class we have spoken of how perhaps many people fear the disabled or look at disabilities in such a unique manner because it is a group we can become a part of at any point. Overall, the observations I made were not nearly as useful as interacting closely with someone who made it clear to me that many assumptions made in fiction occur in real life.
 
-Excerpt from Lisa's Journal Entries:
I am able to connect my learning experience with many of the discussions we have had in class. One of the biggest connections I made was the fact that because of the physical characteristics of the blind, many assumptions are made about them. Rose Marie Garland Thomas talks about this in Extraordinary Bodies. People assume that the blind live completely different life styles than those who do not have disabilities, and they also assume that they cannot perform on the job as well as others.
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== '''Related Links''' ==
 
http://www.tricountyblind.org/index.html
-Homepage for the Tri-County Association for the Blind
 
http://www.nfb.org/
-National Federation for the Blind
 
http://www.afb.org/
-American Federation for the Blind
 
http://www.acb.org/
-American Council of the Blind
 
http://www.delcoblind.org/
-Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
 
http://www.pablind.org/MemberAgencies.htm
-Pennsylvania Association for the Blind
 
http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=113573&top=16971&sectionid=19326&stateorganizations=1
-List of centers across the United States
 
http://www.rfbd.org/
-Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
 
http://www.afbp.org/
-Action for Blind People
 
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/02/seeing.no.limits.ap/index.html]
-Article on CNN.com about a young man who is blind and has receintly become a surgeon.
 
http://www.pablindsports.org/
-Pennsylvania Association for Blind Athletes
 
http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/
-ACB Radio for the Blind Community
 
 
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== '''Tri-County Association in the News''' ==
http://vor.net/NoMedicaidCuts.htm
-Over 1000 organizations tell Bush they are opposed to Medicaid cuts and caps, including the Tri-County Association for the blind.
 
http://www.culturalpartnerships.org/community/2002bridgesgrants.asp
-2002 Building Bridges Mini-Grant Awards
 
http://www.tcuwny.org/aboutus.html
-Tri-County United Way celebrated its 75th Anniversary

Latest revision as of 04:46, 5 May 2005











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