ASL cafe gives the Deaf community a voice and jobs

Non-ASL can place their orders via a microphone, which transcribes their requests onto a display screen

Located in Portland, the Woodstock Cafe primarily operates in American Sign Language (ASL). (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)

A cafe in Oregon has emerged as a vital hub for the Deaf community, not only offering a unique social space, but also crucial employment opportunities for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Located in Portland, the Woodstock Cafe primarily operates in American Sign Language (ASL). Customers who do not use ASL can place their orders via a microphone, which transcribes their requests onto a display screen.

The cafe has attracted staff from across the United States, a testament to the challenges deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals often face in securing employment, according to Andre Gray, one of the cafe's co-founders, who communicated this in sign language.

Gray emphasized the cafe's significance, stating: "So the cafe becomes their stable place. It’s their rock."

The cafe has attracted staff from across the United States, a testament to the challenges deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals often face in securing employment, according to Andre Gray, one of the cafe's co-founders. (Allison Barr/The Oregonian via AP)

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.