Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind
Encyclopedia
The Lighthouse for the Blind Inc. is a private, non-profit agency providing employment, support, and training opportunities for individuals who are blind
, deaf-blind
, and blind with other disabilities.
An affiliate of National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and a participant in the AbilityOne Program, The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. has provided employment and support to blind individuals since 1918. The mission of The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. is to create and enhance opportunities for independence and self-sufficiency for individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or blind with other disabilities. Their aim is to provide employee with whatever supports are necessary for success in the workplace.
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. currently employs nearly 400 individuals, more than 225 of whom have a visual disability. The organization's manufacturing operation, which includes its main production facility in Seattle and a satellite location in Spokane
, focuses on high quality products for the federal government and aircraft parts for The Boeing
Company. In addition to the Seattle and Spokane facilities, the Lighthouse operates Base Supply Centers located on military installations.
clients . Currently, over 45 blind and deaf-blind employees work in the Seattle Lighthouse machine shop assembling aircraft parts at suitably adapted work stations .
Lighthouse manufacturing capabilities include conventional and computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining, radio frequency sealing and welding, injection molding
, hydroform manufacturing
, water-jet cutting, computer numerically controlled shearing, metal fabricating and riveting, non-metallic machining, welding, breakform, and Okuma
CNC machining. Lighthouse aircraft parts have a 99.9% acceptance rate by The Boeing Company, and The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. is a two-time recipient of the Q100 award .
s, and file folders. In addition, with ACCO Brands Corporation, employees manufacture Quartet©/SKILCRAFT© white boards and bulletin boards. Most recently, INL has begun to manufacture airplane parts for Triumph Composite.
Interpreting Services Department to ensure effective communication for deaf-blind employees and non-signing coworkers, a braille training program and reading group, and over 100 computer workstations adapted for use by visually impaired individuals. At all Lighthouse locations, staff mobility instructors teach independent travel with a white cane or dog guide. The Lighthouse also has outreach and educational programs for the community at large, including a nationally acclaimed deaf-blind retreat, deaf-blind community classes, as well as a local school program to educate elementary school students about blindness and deaf-blindness.
Employee and Community Services (ECS) programs at Seattle Lighthouse include an Orientation and Mobility Training
program, a Braille Training Program and Lab, a Supported Employment Program, a Computer Training Program. Additionally, the Lighthouse has a Deaf-Blind Program focused on services to Deaf-Blind individuals.
Orientation and Mobility instructors assist blind and deaf-blind individuals in learning skills to travel independently and safely. Skills instruction includes white cane travel, bus and street route planning, electronic travel aid training, and supplemental guide dog training. Orientation and Mobility instructors meet the needs of numerous employees as they navigate through the ever changing transit landscape of the greater Seattle area, providing ongoing route planning and safe travel techniques. Orientation and Mobility training includes bus travel, route planning, assistive technology assessment, safety techniques for low-vision travelers, relocation and route planning for new community members, and supplemental training for guide-dog
users.
Seattle Lighthouse provides a Braille Training Program to employees who need to learn or develop braille
skills for work or independent living. The Braille Training Program is provided to employees free of charge, with instruction provided on an individual basis. The program also incorporates a reading group, meeting weekly to help expand and refresh employee braille skills. In 2009, Seattle Lighthouse began creating a Braille Library
for program and general employee use, designed to help sharpen braille skills.
Seattle Lighthouse also employs deaf-blind adults with developmental disabilities through our Supported Employment Program. Supported employees are usually referred by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, or the Department of Services for the Blind. Supported employees perform a wide range of jobs throughout the Seattle Lighthouse, including assembling, sorting, labeling, packing, and manufacturing items for federal customers, and are integrated throughout Lighthouse facilities. Supported employees are assigned a job coach who provides instruction, guidance, and support to help them succeed in their positions. Additional support provided to employees who are blind with developmental disabilities include one-on-one training, job development training, adaptation of jobs to individual capabilities, supportive mechanisms to assist in task completion, strategies for effective communication, positive behavioral support, and independent living skills training.
Seattle Lighthouse offers training in computers and assistive technology skills to blind employees through their Computer Training Program (CTP). The CTP exists to increase and support independence, self-sufficiency, and upward mobility in the workplace of blind adults through appropriate training and access to computer technology. In conjunction with The Carroll Center for the Blind, Seattle Lighthouse offers computer training courses designed as an on-line learning resource for adults who are blind and visually impaired. The course of study emphasizes computer and assistive technology tools to be used in the workplace. Classes are either instructor-led or self-paced. Students learn to use assistive technology in conjunction with computer programs such as the Microsoft Office suite, virtual office programs, and the Internet for vocational employment and independent living skills. The Lighthouse also offers basic computer classes and keyboarding instruction.
Seattle Lighthouse's nationally renowned Deaf-Blind Program includes Deaf-Blind Community Class, the Deaf-Blind Technology Training Center, and an annual Deaf-Blind Retreat. Deaf-Blind Community Classes provide a forum that gives members of the Deaf-Blind community access to basic information unavailable in their everyday lives. Students connect with each other, learn leadership and presentation skills, explore a wide range of subjects, and help American Sign Language interpreters develop Deaf-Blind interpreting skills. The Technology Training Center (TTC) at Seattle Lighthouse serves the Deaf-Blind community in building skills through the use of computers and assistive technologies. The TTC offers training on up-to-date assistive technologies for both work and independent living. The week-long annual Deaf-Blind Retreat is an opportunity for Deaf-Blind people from throughout the world to come together and learn from one another. For over 30 years the retreat has been held on the shores of Hood Canal WA at the Seabeck Conference Center . The retreat offers an array of activities, workshops, resources, leadership opportunities, and information in a completely accessible environment for Deaf-Blind adults.
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, deaf-blind
Deafblindness
Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful sight and little or no useful hearing. Educationally, individuals are considered to be deafblind when the combination of their hearing and vision loss causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they...
, and blind with other disabilities.
An affiliate of National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and a participant in the AbilityOne Program, The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. has provided employment and support to blind individuals since 1918. The mission of The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. is to create and enhance opportunities for independence and self-sufficiency for individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or blind with other disabilities. Their aim is to provide employee with whatever supports are necessary for success in the workplace.
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. currently employs nearly 400 individuals, more than 225 of whom have a visual disability. The organization's manufacturing operation, which includes its main production facility in Seattle and a satellite location in Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, focuses on high quality products for the federal government and aircraft parts for The Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Company. In addition to the Seattle and Spokane facilities, the Lighthouse operates Base Supply Centers located on military installations.
Seattle Lighthouse
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. offers employment opportunities for blind and deaf-blind individuals at every level of the organization. Mr. Kirk Adams, Lighthouse President and CEO, is the first blind Executive Director in the organization's history . Seattle Lighthouse produces aircraft parts for The Boeing Company and other aerospaceAerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
clients . Currently, over 45 blind and deaf-blind employees work in the Seattle Lighthouse machine shop assembling aircraft parts at suitably adapted work stations .
Lighthouse manufacturing capabilities include conventional and computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining, radio frequency sealing and welding, injection molding
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
, hydroform manufacturing
Hydroforming
Hydroforming is a cost-effective way of shaping malleable metals such as aluminum or brass into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong pieces. One of the largest applications of hydroforming is the automotive industry, which makes use of the complex shapes possible by hydroforming to produce...
, water-jet cutting, computer numerically controlled shearing, metal fabricating and riveting, non-metallic machining, welding, breakform, and Okuma
Okuma
Okuma or Ōkuma may refer to:a place name:Okuma, Okinawa Prefecture. site operated by the U.S. Air Force. Official name is Okuma Recreational Facility.*Ōkuma , a town located in Futaba District, Fukushima, Japan.a Japanese surname:...
CNC machining. Lighthouse aircraft parts have a 99.9% acceptance rate by The Boeing Company, and The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. is a two-time recipient of the Q100 award .
Inland Northwest Lighthouse
In 2008, The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. opened a manufacturing facility, Inland Northwest Lighthouse (INL) in Spokane, Washington to create jobs for blind and visually impaired adults in the Eastern Washington area. INL currently employs over 40 individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or blind with other disabilities. INL currently manufactures paper trimmers, aluminum binders, easelEasel
An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it.-Etymology:The word is an old Germanic synonym for donkey...
s, and file folders. In addition, with ACCO Brands Corporation, employees manufacture Quartet©/SKILCRAFT© white boards and bulletin boards. Most recently, INL has begun to manufacture airplane parts for Triumph Composite.
Base Supply Centers
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. also operates Base Supply Centers (BSCs) at US military bases under the name Express Supply. These act as agents for AbilityOne products and services, and provide employment opportunities for blind individuals in geographic areas not served by larger nonprofit agencies. The Lighthouse opened its first BSC in 1999. BSC sales provide manufacturing jobs for blind people throughout the country as well as retail and management jobs at the military installations.Programs and Services
In addition to offering employment opportunities, The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. provides a wide range of programs and services for visually impaired employees, deaf-blind and blind people in the larger community. These include vocational computer training programs for blind employees and one-on-one computer classes for deaf-blind people. Seattle Lighthouse provides an in-house Sign LanguageSign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
Interpreting Services Department to ensure effective communication for deaf-blind employees and non-signing coworkers, a braille training program and reading group, and over 100 computer workstations adapted for use by visually impaired individuals. At all Lighthouse locations, staff mobility instructors teach independent travel with a white cane or dog guide. The Lighthouse also has outreach and educational programs for the community at large, including a nationally acclaimed deaf-blind retreat, deaf-blind community classes, as well as a local school program to educate elementary school students about blindness and deaf-blindness.
Employee and Community Services (ECS) programs at Seattle Lighthouse include an Orientation and Mobility Training
Orientation and mobility
Orientation and Mobility or O&M is a profession which focuses on instructing individuals who are blind or visually impaired with safe and effective travel through their environment. Individual O&M instructors can work for schools, government agencies or do private contracting for their services....
program, a Braille Training Program and Lab, a Supported Employment Program, a Computer Training Program. Additionally, the Lighthouse has a Deaf-Blind Program focused on services to Deaf-Blind individuals.
Orientation and Mobility instructors assist blind and deaf-blind individuals in learning skills to travel independently and safely. Skills instruction includes white cane travel, bus and street route planning, electronic travel aid training, and supplemental guide dog training. Orientation and Mobility instructors meet the needs of numerous employees as they navigate through the ever changing transit landscape of the greater Seattle area, providing ongoing route planning and safe travel techniques. Orientation and Mobility training includes bus travel, route planning, assistive technology assessment, safety techniques for low-vision travelers, relocation and route planning for new community members, and supplemental training for guide-dog
Guide dog
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
users.
Seattle Lighthouse provides a Braille Training Program to employees who need to learn or develop braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
skills for work or independent living. The Braille Training Program is provided to employees free of charge, with instruction provided on an individual basis. The program also incorporates a reading group, meeting weekly to help expand and refresh employee braille skills. In 2009, Seattle Lighthouse began creating a Braille Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
for program and general employee use, designed to help sharpen braille skills.
Seattle Lighthouse also employs deaf-blind adults with developmental disabilities through our Supported Employment Program. Supported employees are usually referred by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, or the Department of Services for the Blind. Supported employees perform a wide range of jobs throughout the Seattle Lighthouse, including assembling, sorting, labeling, packing, and manufacturing items for federal customers, and are integrated throughout Lighthouse facilities. Supported employees are assigned a job coach who provides instruction, guidance, and support to help them succeed in their positions. Additional support provided to employees who are blind with developmental disabilities include one-on-one training, job development training, adaptation of jobs to individual capabilities, supportive mechanisms to assist in task completion, strategies for effective communication, positive behavioral support, and independent living skills training.
Seattle Lighthouse offers training in computers and assistive technology skills to blind employees through their Computer Training Program (CTP). The CTP exists to increase and support independence, self-sufficiency, and upward mobility in the workplace of blind adults through appropriate training and access to computer technology. In conjunction with The Carroll Center for the Blind, Seattle Lighthouse offers computer training courses designed as an on-line learning resource for adults who are blind and visually impaired. The course of study emphasizes computer and assistive technology tools to be used in the workplace. Classes are either instructor-led or self-paced. Students learn to use assistive technology in conjunction with computer programs such as the Microsoft Office suite, virtual office programs, and the Internet for vocational employment and independent living skills. The Lighthouse also offers basic computer classes and keyboarding instruction.
Seattle Lighthouse's nationally renowned Deaf-Blind Program includes Deaf-Blind Community Class, the Deaf-Blind Technology Training Center, and an annual Deaf-Blind Retreat. Deaf-Blind Community Classes provide a forum that gives members of the Deaf-Blind community access to basic information unavailable in their everyday lives. Students connect with each other, learn leadership and presentation skills, explore a wide range of subjects, and help American Sign Language interpreters develop Deaf-Blind interpreting skills. The Technology Training Center (TTC) at Seattle Lighthouse serves the Deaf-Blind community in building skills through the use of computers and assistive technologies. The TTC offers training on up-to-date assistive technologies for both work and independent living. The week-long annual Deaf-Blind Retreat is an opportunity for Deaf-Blind people from throughout the world to come together and learn from one another. For over 30 years the retreat has been held on the shores of Hood Canal WA at the Seabeck Conference Center . The retreat offers an array of activities, workshops, resources, leadership opportunities, and information in a completely accessible environment for Deaf-Blind adults.