From the Redwing, Minnesota Republican Eagle
Published Tuesday, August 22, 2000
Blind man changes work environment stereotypes
By ANN BARSNESS / Red Wing Republican Eagle
An AP Member Exchange Feature<
RED WING, Minn. (AP) -- Wayne Hansen graduated from Faribault Area
Vocational Technical Institute in 1980 prepared to work in the machine
industry. But potential employers were not prepared to hire him.
They were afraid he would hurt himself. They didn' t think he could do
the job. They had never worked with someone who is blind.
" That' s why it took me 20 years. A lot of them don' t want to give
you a chance to get in the door. It took a lot of patience and
perseverance, " Hansen said.
Nearly four months ago, he started working at DBI SALA -- a job
arranged by IRC Industries. Several weeks ago DBI SALA put him on the
regular payroll.
On a recent afternoon, Hansen was inserting alignment pins into a
brake system for a retrievable cable device designed to stop workers'
falls. He grabbed discs with his left hand, pins with his right. He
positioned each pin, then lowered the vice grip to secure it in place.
Supervisors are quick to point out that Hansen' s work is top quality.
" His quality standards are no different than anybody else' s on the
floor, " said Chuck Caverly, vice president of operations.
Metal fabrication supervisor Dave Sommerfield, who works directly with
Hansen, used the word " amazing" more than once when he described his
newest employee.
" When he first came in here, I had mixed (feelings) about it. But
after working with him, it' s amazing. Whatever I' ve given him so
far, he' s been able to do, " Sommerfield said. " You show him how
once and he' s got it. I was really amazed at the things that he can
do."
Sally Ogren, rehabilitation director at IRC, said staff worked with
Hansen for a couple of months to learn his skills and interests.
During that time he tried everything from potting plants to stamping
leather. But his interest and training were in machine work.
" I think they were a little apprehensive at first because it involved
operating machinery, " Ogren said of the DBI SALA staff. " Just
because he couldn' t see didn' t mean that he couldn' t do a whole lot
of things."
Hansen doesn' t see the need for fanfare. He works on a variety of
assemblies, as do his fellow employees.
" I just proved myself is what I did, just got in there and started
the job. They found out, ' Hey, the guy could do more and more and
more, " ' Hansen said.
Hansen said the biggest misconception is that he will hurt himself. He
quickly learned the factory layout. Besides, he says, that' s what the
cane is for. Sometimes it takes people time to realize that he can
think for himself. But Hansen complemented his DBI SALA co-workers.
" They helped me to fit in. They accepted me. If I' d have been in a
hostile environment, it would' ve been a lot harder. It maybe wouldn'
t have worked out at all, " Hansen said.
Hansen' s parents run a farm near Canby in southwestern Minnesota.
Cancer caused Hansen' s blindness when he was 1 year old; he' s spent
most of his life away from home.
" I have to say I' m glad. It made me more independent, " Hansen said.
In first and second grade, he lived with two different foster families
in the Twin Cities, where schools had the resources to teach him. For
a time, his godmother learned Braille and taught Hansen. Then in
eighth grade, he entered the Faribault School for the Blind. After he
graduated from the Faribault AVTI, the school' s placement office
tried for two years to help him find a job.
" I really would like to see other people have a chance, " Hansen
said. " I think some of what needs to change is attitude. Give them a
chance."
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
|
