Digital Voices

25 September 2000

Region's New Economy Can't Exclude the Blind and Visually Impaired

As the president and chief executive officer of an organization providing programs and services to 20,000 visually impaired people in the Washington, D.C. area, I find it staggering that, even in the face of the current labor shortage, 70 percent of blind, working age adults in the United States remain unemployed. Initiatives designed to improve this unacceptably high unemployment rate and bridge the "digital divide" are urgently needed ["Initiatives for Disabled Unveiled," National News, September 22].

Recent advances in adaptive and assistive technology, such as screen magnification software and software that converts text into speech, can help to bridge this divide. Assistive technology is revolutionizing professional opportunities for the blind and visually impaired community, specifically in the communications and information services industry. This technology enables individuals who are experiencing vision loss to acquire and retain the skills necessary to achieve economic independence and allows visually impaired persons attempting to re-enter the workforce to develop marketable career skills. People who are blind and visually impaired can turn to the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind to receive training in this technology.

In order to demonstrate to other local employers how easily, effectively and efficiently this technology can be integrated into the workplace, the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind recently entered into a strategic partnership with the Colorado-based audio bookstore Reel Books Internet, Inc., to develop an e-commerce business that is operated by employees who are blind and visually impaired.

The resulting website, ReelBooks.com, is an online audio bookstore designed to provide training and employment opportunities consistent with the region's "new economy." In addition to learning about e-commerce and acquiring valuable career skills that increase their future job marketability, the blind and visually impaired employees working for ReelBooks.com receive hands-on training in internet-driven technology, technical support and customer service.

The ultimate goal of this venture is to provide savvy, well-trained employees to other tech companies in the Washington, DC area, as well as to offer valuable retail service in the rapidly expanding market of audio books.

The official launch of ReelBooks.com will be held on Capitol Hill Thursday, September 28 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in room B-369 of the Rayburn House Office Building. I invite Members of Congress, local business and community leaders and the residents of the Washington, DC area to attend the launch and show their support for providing employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired residents of the metropolitan Washington, DC area.

Contact information:
Dale Otto
President & CEO
Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind
1421 P Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 462-2900

(c)Benton Foundation, 2000. Redistribution of this email publication -- both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message.