DeafBlind Awareness Day brings focus to workforce inclusion and support programs in Oklahoma

On Wednesday, representatives from the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) joined News 9 on the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch to provide information about the agency’s services and an upcoming community event.

Mark Beutler, Director of Communications, and Kelley Guitierrez, DeafBlind Programs Specialist, spoke about the department's mission. The representatives also gave details about DeafBlind Awareness Day, scheduled for Monday, June 30, at MetroTech OKC, at 1900 Springlake Dr. in Oklahoma City.

In this Q&A, Beutler and Guitierrez explain the purpose of the event, outline available services, and share how DRS works with individuals and employers to support inclusive employment across the state.

What is the mission of Oklahoma DRS?

Beutler: "The mission behind what we do, in a nutshell, is putting Oklahomans with disabilities back to work. So you have a disability, we provide the training, the skills necessary, the education to get you back in the workforce, to make you a productive member of society again, and to become a taxpaying citizen. So basically, that's our core mission of what we do."

What can we expect at DeafBlind Awareness Day?

Guitierrez: "So DeafBlind Awareness Day will be Monday, June 30th, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. We will have an awards presentation that starts at 2 p.m. We're going to honor some people who have served in the DeafBlind community. We have the spokesperson who is a young lady who has made great progress in her life since she lost her vision and her hearing."

"We also have a Community Partner Award, and that's going to go to somebody who has really served our community and provides some services to deafblind citizens. And then we're going to have the Ann Sullivan Award. Ann Sullivan was the teacher for Helen Keller, and she also had a visual impairment herself. And the award is going to honor somebody who has done great things in our community and offered services out of the goodness of her heart to provide for our citizens. So at the event, we're going to honor them."

"We will also have vendors there that can just showcase what services are available to the community. And it's a chance for DeafBlind citizens to be able to see what's out there. We also will have the opportunity to allow employers to come and they can really recognize like what we can do to work with them to provide accommodations for our individuals so they can go back to work."