Meet Jordan – 28-years-old, determined, funny, and becoming a master at Braille in record time.

Jordan always had his eyes set on one goal – to help people by serving society and becoming a Federal Agent. He received his BA in Criminal Justice and was gaining law enforcement experience when his life changed.

At 25 years old, due to a genetic medical condition, he lost almost all of his vision and his hearing in one ear. For a while, he felt very lost. He had to rely on others and didn’t know how to connect with his friends, family, or society. Through his involvement with Cleveland Sight Center, Jordan has been able to regain much of his independence and reconnect with society. Jordan said, “Without Cleveland Sight Center, I would be sitting in a chair alone – in physical and mental darkness – not being able to connect with anyone. Connecting with CSC allowed me to get some of my independence back so I could reclaim my own life and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”

At CSC, Jordan has learned braille (partly over the phone during the height of the pandemic), and is currently receiving iPhone training and learning how to use JAWS® (Job Access With Speech) - a computer screen reading software. While these skills take a lot of patience and time, Jordan says his advice to anyone is to “find out where your limits are and then push them – that’s what I am trying to do now.” With these new skills, Jordan hopes to become an Emergency Services Dispatcher. “This will allow me to achieve my ultimate goal of giving back to the society that kept me alive when my genetic medical condition symptoms manifested,” said Jordan.

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