A little over a year ago, Barnabas Center received funds through CareerSource NEFL’s Customized Training program for employees to receive training in conversational Spanish to better converse with its customers.
This year, the nonprofit agency based in Fernandina Beach leveraged the program again to train six employees with basic sign language to improve its communication with customers even further.
Barnabas Center Chief Executive Officer Jamie Reynolds, who was among the employees who took part in the training, says it represents the agency’s effort to identify areas of its operations that are barriers to serving its customers.
“We identified that language can be a big barrier, so that’s why we did the Spanish training last year,” Reynolds said. “But we also realized that sign language, in a rudimentary form, can be another way to increase communication…that sign language was kind of a more organic, natural form of communication. People use gestures all the time, so we just thought that if we had a several keywords a some of us knew internally, it may make another difference in the lives of those we serve.”
The nonprofit serves as Nassau County’s comprehensive service center – providing free medical and dental services, operating a nutrition services program in partnership with Feeding Northeast Florida and providing other short-term help. This help includes financial assistance, budgeting and financial education, clothing and household items, and referrals for additional services. The agency also operates two resale stores in Fernandina Beach and Yulee to generate operating funds and provide donations to its clients.
Although customers with severe hearing impairment make up a small percentage of those coming into Barnabas Center, Reynolds notes that sign language can be used across many spoken languages.
“What’s interesting is it can be used to bridge different language barriers, so if we’re working with people who may not know English or Spanish we could potentially use some signs to increase our ability to communicate,” she said.
The training was held after work hours, at 6 p.m. on Mondays, for about six weeks – conducted via Zoom by Florida State College at Jacksonville Instructor Holly Varthkavi.
Reynolds said she was happy to see employees from the nonprofit’s different program areas get involved. In addition herself, Barnabas Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Dupuis, Empowerment Program Manager Priscilla Eljaiek, Dental Hygienist Chelsey Wathen, Staff Accountant Lidia Manzo Garcia and Front Office Receptionist Carolina Rojas took part in the training.
“We loved it…and then we would make ourselves use it the very next day when we would greet each other at work…and would also try to have full conversations that were nonverbal,” she said.
Aa a person who knew nothing about sign language before the training, Reynolds said it was a challenge – but the instructor was “fantastic.”
“Holly was deaf, so she’s native signer, and she had two interpreters who worked alongside her,” she said. “It was cool…and she made it engaging and fun. It felt very college level and, I’ll be honest with you, my brain is a little tired at 6 p.m. at night, but I loved it. All of us who took the class really enjoyed the challenge.”
Since Barnabas Center provides 100 percent reimbursement for professional development, and the initial training was an introduction to sign language, Reynolds says those who “have a passion” to take it further have an option to continue.
With about 50 employees and 600 volunteers, Barnabas is the only primary care clinic for residents who are living below the federal poverty line – acting as a “catch-all and stopgap” for those people in need.
Barnabas Center began in the mid-1980s when a St. Michael’s Catholic Church priest was joined by parishioners to launch Barnabas Center (which means ‘son of encouragement’) in a vacant church for people struggling and needing resources in the area.