Aside from the obvious reasons, this is also great because it allows the deaf to work in a deaf-friendly work environment; everyone or most there probably sign.<p>Much of a deaf person's life is spent watching, in silence and isolation, as the hearing people around them communicate freely. Depending on the area, socializing a deaf family member can be a real challenge. Finding a job like this would be a huge help.
A friend of mine (Nicolette Mak) has done something similar in the Netherlands, a courier service for handicapped people called 'Valid Express' ( <a href="http://www.validexpress.nl/" rel="nofollow">http://www.validexpress.nl/</a> ). It's a huge success, she now has about 50 vehicles on the road with people that have 'challenging bodies' as she calls it, each vehicle is adapted to it's driver.
A free-flow toll road operator in Melbourne did something similar for the licence plate verification operators - they only hired deaf people, and their bosses learnt to sign.<p>The system automatically identifies the licence plate for tag-less vehicles using digital photography and OCR, but they are supposed to be verified, so the operators flip through the images quickly and look for mismatches.
In Denmark there is a company called Specialisterne (The Specialists) that only hire people with autism as software testers. It's a huge success as some types of autism is perfect for extremely repetitive work as it both improves the actual testing and even better the autist loves it.<p><a href="http://www.specialisterne.dk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.specialisterne.dk/</a>
Good stuff. In my small town one of the two super markets hires people with disabilities and that is one reason I do my shopping there.<p>A good friend has been deaf since she was about 4. She has accomplished a lot in her life, but many things are difficult for her.
It's inspiring to see entrepreneurs fill gaps that many governments leave behind when it comes to accessibility and the workplace. Thanks for the great post.
Toronto has a similar courier service that only hires people with mental health issues: <a href="http://www.awaycourier.ca/" rel="nofollow">http://www.awaycourier.ca/</a><p>They use public transit for pick-ups and deliveries.