For more than 50 years, Partnership’s Deaf Services program has helped Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals secure jobs, keep housing, and fully participate in life. Interpreting services and American Sign Language (ASL) education remove barriers that can lead to unemployment, homelessness, and isolation. Darwin Ayscue, an ASL interpreter for 40 years with Partnership, began his journey in 1979 after his brother, a teacher, had five Deaf students in his class.
“I knew I wanted to work with people, keep learning, and make an impact,” Darwin says. “I got into this field because I didn’t like to see people excluded.”
In the early 1980s, access was more limited and sign language as we now know it was actively evolving. Since then, the Deaf community has embraced ASL as their language and Deaf culture as their identity.
The Americans with Disabilities Act expanded legal rights, and video interpreting has made communication faster and easier. Partnership has been there through each change, ensuring our community benefits.
Darwin recalls two families, one raising a Deaf boy and another a Deaf baby girl, who joined Partnership’s ASL classes to learn how to communicate with their children. Today, the two are grown and married to each other, their lives shaped by families who could connect with them from the start.
Darwin smiles, knowing he and the team at Partnership helped set them on a path to success.
