Update on Mario's Story

A while back we interviewed a deaf man named Mario about his experience in trying to obtain advocacy help from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center (DHHSC). He felt he had been wrongfully terminated from his job at Walmart last year and sought help from DHHSC in filling out forms to file a complaint. He never received help from DHHSC and had to proceed with the assistance of family. He was upset when he found out that DHHSC had accepted a $1,000 donation from Walmart. We put his story on the website because it was typical of the many other complaints we have received about DHHSC's lack of responsiveness to advocacy requests. In fact, in the Central Valley there have been at least two other deaf people besides Mario that went to DHHSC with employment related complaints involving Walmart. They also did not receive help.

Since Mario's interview was on our website several positive developments have occurred. First, Mario now has the attention of the staff and board of DHHSC. Although an apology was offered by DHHSC for neglecting to help Mario, as far as we know there has been no action taken to confront Walmart over these complaints or attempts to contact Mario to assist him in any way. Because Mario was willing to tell his story, other deaf people know they are not alone in their concerns. Mario has been able to meet another deaf person with a similar story and there is a lawyer interested in helping. Good things can happen when the Deaf get together, share concerns and do something about them. Deafknow is one place where you can share your concerns and make things happen for you and your community!