Kelly is a sales manager consultant at a car dealership in the East Kootenay.

“I appraise used vehicles for trade in purposes, wholesale vehicles to brokers, work deals with customers and salespeople. I also manage the sales department and staff issues,” he says.

Kelly is a C4-C5 incomplete quadriplegic and uses a wheelchair.

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Marcy works in an administrative role in Prince George.

“My hearing loss impacted many facets of my current work, including communication with clients and co-workers in many situations,” she says. “Factors like having a large office with workspaces spread out, speaking through plexiglass, and equipment limitations have been some of the challenges.”

Marcy needed new hearing aids, but could not afford them. She learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services (ATS) during her hearing test, and she decided to apply for funding.

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Joseph works as a driver for a retirement home in the Lower Mainland, taking residents to doctors appointments and on bus trips to various locations.

His hearing loss was making it difficult to hear residents and colleagues.

He needed new hearing aids, and his audiologist at NexGen Hearing recommended he apply for funding from WorkBC Assistive Technology Services.

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Kevin is a Workshop Facilitator with WorkBC Employment Services in Abbotsford, delivering presentations to clients in both English and French.

“Listening well is a very important part of understanding and communicating well with clients and teammates,” he says.

“After experiencing significant, sudden hearing loss, I really struggled when in a group of three or more participants. Some locations are more difficult than others due to poor acoustics, echo, etc, but I was struggling to catch parts of conversations.

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Christianne, who lives in Sandspit, works as a care home aid in long term care facilities and private homes.

She was born with hearing loss in her right ear, and had further hearing loss in her left ear after developing Bell’s Palsy.

Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Christianne received funding for a pair of brand new hearing aids.

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Vinzenz works at a retirement resort in Kelowna as an executive chef, arranging schedules for chefs, planning the menus, and preparing bread, desserts, and main dishes for 150 residents.

He has hearing loss.

He learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services from his hearing clinic.

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Tamara works as a receptionist in Port Moody, answering the phones, booking appointments, and opening and closing the office. She has fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic pain, and learning difficulties.

“[I] can’t sit or stand for too long. Repetitive tasks cause pain and cramping,” she shares. “[My] reading and writing are very weak. I have got to go to school to help, but I learn a different way.”

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Maureen works in the counselling office of a middle school in Lake Cowichan, helping students with their schoolwork and supporting them with issues like anxiety and social skills.

“I have hearing loss mostly in the area of hearing speech which makes it really hard to help students when I can’t hear soft voices,” she shares. “Without hearing aids, I have to continuously ask students to repeat themselves and even then, I miss a great deal of the conversation.”

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Calvin has over 35 years of experience as a carpenter. He does service work for a housing development in Kelowna, and recently became a licenced home inspector and started his own business.

Over the course of his career, Calvin has noticed a gradual loss of his hearing.

“Both positions dictate that I have direct personal contact on a daily basis,” he explains. “Discussions with trades, clients, homeowners and management were getting harder to understand if I did not have face to face communication.”

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Andrea is in training to start her own business from her home in Nanaimo.

Andrea has spastic cerebral palsy, which limits her ability to read and she cannot write. Needing assistance with daily activities, she has found it difficult in the past to find a “typical 9-5” job.

She turned to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services to get the devices she needed to work more independently.

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