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Spotlight Story: Tristan Trautman

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The youngest of three children, Tristan is verbal, he understands others; but is non-vocal. Born with cerebral palsy, he is prone to epileptic seizures and uses a wheelchair. Tristan’s mother Adriane, a single mother, does her best to provide for them. Since 2010 she has operated a cleaning service. She left an abusive marriage and she moved with her children into their current home in 2017. Unfortunately, the entrance to the home is not accessible for Tristan in his wheelchair.

During the day, Tristan goes to Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC). Tristan is very social and enjoys spending time with other children. However, there are steps at the entrance to their home which Tristan cannot navigate with his wheelchair making it extremely difficult to get him in and out. His mother shared their struggle. “The task of taking Tristan in and out is daunting and exhausting as he grows and gets bigger,” she said. “It used to take 5 minutes to get him in and out, but as he grows it takes longer and longer to walk down the steps with a 160-pound child and chair.” Adriane says that with a ramp, Tristan wouldn’t need someone to help take him in and out anymore. “We’d be able to go out more and go on walks like we used to.”

In October 2018, the Center for Independent Living partnered with Cuhaci & Peterson (C&P), Siemens, and First United Methodist Church Winter Park in building Tristan’s ramp. “They saw my immediate need and acted quickly,” Adriane said. “Within weeks, architectural drawings were completed, materials were purchased, and volunteers worked fiercely to make independence a reality for my son.” Now, Tristan and his mother can more easily maneuver in and out of his home, allowing both of them to live their lives a bit easier. “I can now take Tristan in and out of our home without fear,” Adriane said. “A gift…a real gift. CIL has provided an avenue for my family to make Tristan’s life a bunch easier. Truly freedom for him and for me.”

Spotlight Story: Bobbie Smith

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Bobbie Smith is always on the go. After spending 10 years as a mechanic in the United States Army and another 20 working for the United States Postal Service, Bobbie was forced to retire due to developing prostate cancer. Bobbie’s life was saved through radiation therapy, but the toll on his body was extensive. His back required a spinal fusion and due to bad circulation from his diabetes he lost a portion of his foot.

Today, Bobbie uses a motorized chair to get around his home and outside. However, the stairs to his home presented an enormous obstacle to getting in and out. “I’m not really a home body. I want to explore, stay busy, participate in activities, and give back to the community,” Bobbie says. “But because I need a chair to get around I can’t get out of my house without help.” Bobbie’s neighbors, family, and roommates all pitch in to help him in and out of his home, however they aren’t always available to help. “My daughter has to take off work to help me in and out to go to the doctor,” Bobbie says. “If she’s not working, then she’s not making money so it’s twice as bad.” Bobbie says he wants to keep as much independence as he can. “I say keep because once you lose it it’s so hard to get it back. A ramp would help me so much to not lose that.”

With the help of ABC Prosthetics & Orthotics and their volunteer group “Limb-It-Less,” Bobbie got his ramp on February 9, 2019. Made from aluminum, this ramp will last even longer and be better able to withstand the wet Florida climate. Now it is so much easier for Bobbie to maneuver in and out of his home! “It’s going great… the ramp is tremendous!” Bobbie said. “I have so much freedom of movement and feel much more independent.”

Latonja’s Story

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When Latonja came to CIL in 2015, she had one simple goal: to find a job. Something that sounds so simple to other people was an uphill challenge for her. Why? Because Latonja is Deaf. Just like many of the people that CIL helps in the Aspire to Hire program, her disability made it extremely difficult to not just find employment, but employers that treated her with the respect and dignity that she deserves. Individuals who are Deaf, like Latonja, face unique hurdles in the employment process-from the application, to transportation, to actual employment. While in the program, her case manager was there to help with every part of the process, which included job readiness training and pre-employment skills training. During this process, it just so happened that CIL was in need of a janitorial staff member to join their team, and actually hired Latonja to fill the role, where she is still gainfully employee.

Xiong’s Story

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Xiong had been Deaf since birth. She moved to the United States from China in 2011 and got married. Sadly, soon after her husband passed away. She now needed to become a naturalized citizen. Xiong contacted CIL for help. She did not know English well, did not have transportation to get to CIL, and did not have a computer to help her get through the citizenship process. CIL’s Deaf Voice team stepped into action, printed instructions in Chinese for Xiong and mailed them to her home so she could get started.

Xiong’s family helped her complete the first application form and made an appointment to bring Xiong to CIL to fill out the second form. CIL’s Deaf Voice team discussed the filing fees and reviewed the checklist of steps that Xiong needed to take in order for the application to proceed smoothly. She filled out the paperwork, got a money order for the fees, and mailed them to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Several weeks later, Xiong received a response – her application had been rejected! She scheduled another appointment to meet with CIL’s Deaf Voice team. Fortunately, the Deaf Voice team found that the rejection was only because Xiong had sent in her application on an outdated form, but she could resubmit her application at any time. She obtained another money order and once again mailed the application, this time with the correct form. Just two weeks later she received another reply scheduling her for fingerprinting and telling her she would be scheduled for an in person interview. She was fingerprinted and then waited for her interview to be arranged. While she was waiting, CIL’s Deaf Voice team showed her a video detailing the interview process to prepare her. After nine long months her interview was finally scheduled.

As Xiong was Deaf, this presented a challenge for her as sign language is not a universal language and she was still fairly unfamiliar with English. But that didn’t deter her and she completed practice tests using her phone to translate the questions from English to Chinese. Before the test Xiong prepared by practicing to better understand the questions she would be asked. In addition, CIL’s Deaf Voice team worked to teach her American Sign Language and English vocabulary to assist her in her taking the test.

After the test, Xiong was excited to contact CIL’s Deaf Voice team and let them know that she had passed the test and was now a naturalized U.S. citizen!