An Oregon cafe that takes orders in sign language has become a cherished space for the Deaf community, providing a unique gathering place as well as employment for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
American Sign Language, or ASL, is the primary language at Woodstock Cafe in Portland, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Non-ASL speakers can use a microphone that transcribes their order onto a screen.
People have moved from across the country to work at the cafe because it can be hard for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to find jobs, Andre Gray, who helped open the cafe, told the news outlet in sign language.
“So the cafe becomes their stable place. It’s their rock,” he said.
The cafe — owned by CymaSpace, a nonprofit that makes art accessible to the Deaf community — also hosts weekly ASL meetups and game nights. Sign Squad on Tuesdays is a popular event, drawing people like Zach Salisbury, who was born with a rare genetic disorder that causes gradual loss of hearing and sight and uses a cochlear implant, and Amy Wachspress, who started learning sign language nine years ago as she lost her hearing.
The hearing spectrum among attendees is diverse, with deaf people signing with students taking introductory sign language classes and hard of hearing people reading lips and communicating with spoken word and hand signals.
“What I just love about it is that there’s so many different people that come,” said Wachspress, who classifies herself as hard of hearing and primarily reads lips to communicate. “It’s so eclectic … just many different kinds of people from all different backgrounds. And the one thing we have in common is that we sign.”
Wachspress loves to tell the story about a deaf toddler born to hearing parents who wanted him to be immersed in Deaf culture. When they brought him to the cafe, he was thrilled to see other people sign.
“He was just so beside himself excited when he realized that you could communicate with people using sign,” she said. “We were all so touched. … That’s the kind of thing that happens here at the cafe.”
Gray, who helped open the cafe, said there were plans to acquire adjacent vacant buildings for a Deaf Equity Center but that much of the funding was cut following the change of presidential administration. However, CymaSpace hopes to find funding from private organizations and a future crowdsourcing campaign.
“It gives power to the community as opposed to a fear of signing. We, as a community, are so proud of who we are,” he said.
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