September 11, 2020 / Modified sep 11, 2020 5:21 p.m.

PPE needs of those with disabilities during pandemic, education for all

One woman creates masks to ease communication as nonprofits emphasize the struggles of people with disabilities during the pandemic

  
  

Tony Paniagua spoke to Adult Loss of Hearing Association Treasurer Stan Kruggel, who has some hearing loss and a cochlear implant, about the struggles of hearing and communicating while everyone is wearing masks to stifle the spread of COVID-19. Terri Rice, office manager at ALOHA, said she's trying to help by sewing masks with a clear panel to help those with hearing loss read the lips of the mask wearer.

The Direct Center for Independence is another nonprofit that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities. Zach Coble is a volunteer with DIRECT, and he said the pandemic has highlighted how people dependent on federal dollars to make ends meet don't have the flex in their budgets to pay for services that promote social distancing.

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona