Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind Abilities we explore just how blind and visually impaired individuals have experienced and adapted to corona and COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our previous episodes, we have circumnavigated the world, from Australia to Malaysia-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elise Lonsdale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name is Elise Lonsdale, and I\u2019m from Northern Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chee Chau:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Chee Chau, from Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-England-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Steve Wicketts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hi, my name\u2019s Steve, and I\u2019m from England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Trinidad and Tobago-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marlon Parieaho:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Marlon Parieaho-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and Canada-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nick D\u2019Ambrosio:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Nick D\u2019Ambrosio- <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this, the tenth episode in our series Around the World With COVID-19 From a Blindness Perspective, we come back to the United States of America-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lori Thompson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Lori Thompson-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brooklyn Rodden Kelly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Brooklyn-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Fischler:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Brian Fischler-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sherry Molengraft:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Sherry Molengraft-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Bazer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Jeff Bazer-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our guest today is Jeff Bazer. Jeff works for Vispero, where he is the south central Regional Sales Director. Jeff shares with us his experience with the coronavirus and COVID-19 in his home state of South Carolina \u2013 its impact on his company, its impact on him as a citizen of South Carolina, and on him as a blind individual. Now, please welcome our guest, Jeff Bazer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Newscaster (female):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-start today with breaking news. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control \u2013 DHEC \u2013 has now reported the first confirmed death of the coronavirus in our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Newscaster (female) 2:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State health officials have released the latest update on COVID-19 cases \u2013 113 new cases, bringing the total number to 3319 cases-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Newscaster (female) 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-528 new cases, and seven additional deaths, bringing the death total to 575 people since March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Newscaster (female) 4:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s another record-breaking day in South Carolina. The health agency continues to warn South Carolina residents to practice social distancing and wear face coverings in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Newscaster (female) 5:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another 1000 people tested positive for the virus yesterday. South Carolina is now considered a hotspot for coronavirus cases, trailing only Arizona and Florida in cases per population this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Bazer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hello, I\u2019m Jeff Bazer, I\u2019m a sales representative at Vispero and Freedom Scientific, and I have a sales territory in the south central part of the United States. COVID-19, you know, one of the things that I\u2019ve often thought about was what if this pandemic had occurred at a time when we didn\u2019t have access to the internet? We couldn\u2019t listen to our favorite podcasts, we couldn\u2019t get on a Zoom and, you know, talk with all our friends, and have our children educated that way, and everything else that we\u2019ve been able to do on our smartphones or computers because we haven\u2019t been able to see folks in person. So if there\u2019s a silver lining here at all, maybe that\u2019s it \u2013 that because COVID-19 chose the time it did to visit us all around the world, at least we had technology to rely on, so that we didn\u2019t drive ourselves and everybody around us crazy, right? Oh, boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is really something else, I\u2019ll just let you know a little bit about how this has affected me from an employment standpoint but then tell you a lot more about family and just a blindness perspective in general, because we\u2019ve all had to retool, haven\u2019t we, and all just come up with new ways and new plans of doing things. So I just want to let you know first, Vispero and Freedom Scientific, it\u2019s actually turned out so far to be not so bad as far as my own employment stands. You know, I really appreciate how our company has taken things and what we\u2019ve done, but also just from the standpoint of how we\u2019ve continued to conduct business \u2013 we were at CSUN in the middle of March when this all started, and you know, we really thought at that point, \u201cAre we even going to have CSUN?\u201d Because this was when, you know, lots of other things were all being cancelled so quickly \u2013 in fact, the week of the CSUN conference was when the NBA first said, \u201cNope, we are cancelling the season,\u201d and then the other major sports followed suit. So we almost thought that that was going to happen to the conference too, there, C-S-U-N, but it did not \u2013 they went on, and had it, and I think as the week went on more people thought, \u201cYou know, this is just a place where we probably don\u2019t need to be. We need to go home.\u201d And California was beginning to shut down that very week, too. So, on Friday the 13th<\/sup> was when I came home, and I have not travelled since. I think, you know, that\u2019s the case with a lot of folks who travelled for work before, that just hasn\u2019t happened for lots of us, and I\u2019m not sure when I will again. So, I\u2019m so thankful that business has continued, for all of us \u2013 you know, you folks listening here too, we have figured out ways to do it, but it\u2019s not been easy, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the things that happened at Vispero right away, in kind of our haste to figure out, well, what are we going to do, and how are we going to conduct business now, we made sure that anybody who was displaced from their school, from campus, from their job, still had access to our software \u2013 JAWS ZoomText Fusion \u2013 and the way we did that is we provided it for free online, so all you had to do was just go download the version that you wanted, install it on any machine, and basically with an email address you were back up and running. We just knew that we needed to do something like that, because little did we know what was happening to all of you \u2013 where you were going to work from, or try to conduct school from, your classes that is and everything else, so we just thought the easiest thing to do was to make sure that we did our part in making sure that you were covered and you didn\u2019t have to worry about whosever machine you were using that you could still get your AT software on it. I think big moves like that are what a lot of companies and a lot of families and a lot of all of us have had to do in this time of COVID-19, we\u2019ve had to step back and we\u2019ve had to say, \u201cHow are we going to make it through, what are we going to do, how are we going to make it work best?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve had to do a lot of that as well, I\u2019ve got a couple of young children here in South Carolina with me, and my ex-wife and I had to figure out, so, okay, they\u2019re not in school, we\u2019ve got to do distance learning, how are we going to do that? And from a blindness perspective that was a little tough because there were certain things they were doing online that they needed sighted assistance, or that we needed sighted assistance for to help them. And so, thankfully, my ex-wife has quite a social media hype, and we were able to find people to help us help our children pretty quickly. That all actually worked out. What\u2019s been a little tougher is over the summer here, because a lot of camps have been cancelled, bible schools and things like that, that we normally have our kids involved in, now the challenge has been trying to keep them entertained so they\u2019re not jumping off beds and getting crazy in the next room while I\u2019m trying to work or their mother is trying to work as well \u2013 we\u2019re doing everything from home now, you know? It\u2019s been tough to explain to them too, you know, my two here are 7 and 10, and trying to explain what COVID-19 is and the fact that we all now have to be so careful around each other, and that people- some people are getting very sick, some people are dying, and we all have to do our part to really just help each other, and the way we do that is to steer clear of each other a whole lot more. That\u2019s hard for them to understand, of course \u2013 it\u2019s hard for all of us to understand, I think, and so many people- it seems like whoever you talk to has a different opinion on how they want to do it, you know, how much social distancing they think they really need to do, whether they need to wear a mask. These opinions are from one end of the scale to the other, it seems like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Newscaster (male):<\/p>\n\n\n\n As those numbers continue to go up, the governor urging people to practice social distancing and use face masks when out in the public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Linda Bell:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, I am more concerned about COVID-19 in South Carolina than I have ever been before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Newscaster (female) 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Linda Bell, epidemiologist, announced 528 new cases of COVID-19, and seven additional deaths in the state, bringing the death total to 575 people since March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff Bazer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, you know, it\u2019s amazing what\u2019s happened, I\u2019m sure that I\u2019m saying a lot of familiar things, but I want to tell you a couple of things that I\u2019ve noticed here just recently that are a little bit different, and I think these are unique to blind folks. The first one I want to tell you about is I was at my favorite sandwich shop here recently, and we were trying to order our food. Now, the way the restaurants are configured now, you know, everything\u2019s in a different place, and there\u2019s actually a table that sits between the counter and where you order now so that you social distance and you\u2019re a little further away. Well, that\u2019s tougher to hear the person, it\u2019s tougher to interact for somebody like myself, who\u2019s totally blind, you know, I have to go all on being able to listen, and some people just don\u2019t want to get very close, you know, they want to steer clear, and so that whole interpersonal aspect of things is I think quite a bit tougher sometimes from a blindness perspective, because if somebody\u2019s not going to get close to you you\u2019re not going to be able to hear them very well, and you certainly can\u2019t see them shaking their head. That\u2019s been tough to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing that happened is I was in a drive-through \u2013 came up to the window, and normally folks are great, you know, they\u2019ll start to hand me my food once they realize, \u201cOh, I guess he can\u2019t see!\u201d We don\u2019t really have time for that whole conversation in the drive-through, \u201cOh, let me give you a little warning, I\u2019m blind, and can you please assist?\u201d So, what happens now, with COVID-19, is this contactless drive-through thing\u2019s going on, and they\u2019ll just hold out the container, and you take your food out of the container. And I certainly did not realize that at first, that was tough! It\u2019s just the point that people don\u2019t want to have a lot of contact with you sometimes, and I think that really hits home for us folks who are blind, who maybe we didn\u2019t even realize it before, but once a sighted person realized that we couldn\u2019t see them and didn\u2019t necessarily know what was going on they might compensate for that just automatically \u2013 might not even realize it themself and we might not either. And so that\u2019s just thought of a lot differently now, I think, with where we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the things that I really got used to prior to COVID-19 was minimal time to get an Uber or Lyft to my house, and I\u2019m talking seven minutes at the most, sometimes it could be five or six minutes. When COVID-19 started, it wasn\u2019t so bad right away, I mean, for the first month or so everything was fine. But the longer it went on, the longer it took to get an Uber or Lyft, and this is how I get to my children\u2019s house to pick them up, and- I mean, I have come to rely on Uber and Lyft so much both here at my house but also when I travel to other cities all around the country as well. I think as blind people we\u2019ve gotten so spoiled, because usually, unless you\u2019re in a real rural area a long ways out, it just does not take long to get an Uber or Lyft at all, maybe 10 minutes at the most, and sometimes as little as three or four minutes. And so this has made a huge difference as far as that goes, I\u2019m waiting sometimes now 20 to 25 minutes, and it\u2019s really tough \u2013 and I know that there\u2019s a lot of concerns with drivers about safety, and, you know, PPE, and all these other things that they really have to concern themselves with, so it\u2019s not that I feel like I\u2019m blaming the drivers and that there\u2019s, you know, a lot less drivers that are out there, but it is certainly something as a blind person that\u2019s become a little frustrating because it used to be wherever you wanted to go you could get a ride quickly, and now that\u2019s a whole lot more of an issue, and you have to plan ahead, and I\u2019m not always the best planner, so when I want to go somewhere, I\u2019ve come to rely on that 5 to 10 minute block and now it\u2019s at least 20, sometimes less, but that\u2019s tough. That\u2019s tough to get used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know if that sounds familiar to any of you, but there you have my opinion. I guess in final I just want to tell everybody that, hey, I\u2019m thinking about you, I certainly hope you\u2019re staying safe and well, if there\u2019s anything I can do to assist \u2013 you know, just a couple of blind people getting together, talking things through, I certainly would. Best of luck to all of you, and again, everybody please take care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Newscaster (female) 6:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new travel advisory is impacting the Carolinas; the governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have now issued an order for a handful of states, including South Carolina \u2013 so what this means is that anybody who travels from those states, you have got to quarantine for 14 days if you enter that area of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Governor Henry McMaster:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You all, thank you for coming. This concerns another executive order that we call the last call to help reduce the rapid transition of coronavirus, particularly among young adults congregating in bars and restaurants at night. This executive order will prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages in all South Carolina restaurants and bars after 11 p.m. starting tomorrow night, Saturday, July 11th<\/sup>, 2020, and will stay in place, nightly, until further notice. Many of the young people in our state as well as around the country seem not to be taking the virus as seriously as they should, and we hope that this will help all of us, particularly the younger generations, to realize just how serious this virus is and how much is at stake if we don\u2019t see these infection rates start dropping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [music]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019d like to thank Jeff for sharing his perspective on corona and COVID-19 in the state of South Carolina. Be sure to tune in for more episodes in our series. And from all of us here at Blind Abilities, through these challenging times, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. Thank you so much for listening, and have a great day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [Music] [Transition noise] – Jeff Thompson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at\u00a0www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at\u00a0info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email<\/a> or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Check out the Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a> group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind Abilities we explore just how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6083","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1A7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6122,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6122","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":0},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Episode 2 – Chee Chau from Malaysia – Helping Others.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6118,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6118","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":1},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective. A New Series. Episode 1 \u2013 When it Began Down Under.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago- British Newscaster (male): -hundred dead, thousands infected across multiple continents. But how did the coronavirus spread so quickly? American Newscaster (male): Now the growing concerns about the deadly coronavirus officially hitting the US,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6111,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6111","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":2},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective – Episode 3: Steve Wicketts from England \u2013 Look Out for Your Mates.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6108,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6108","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":3},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Episode 4 – Marlon Parieaho from Trinidad and Tobago – – A Time to Learn.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6103,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6103","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":4},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Episode 5 – Nick D\u2019Ambrosio from Montreal \u2013 Together We Will Make It.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6091,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6091","url_meta":{"origin":6083,"position":5},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective – Episode 8 – Sherry Molengraft: In Jacksonville, Florida – The New Hotbed.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? 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When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nContact Your State Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org<\/a> and search the directory for your agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\nContact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities<\/a>
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a>
Send us an email<\/a>
Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store<\/a>and Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n