LEARN THE EQUAL BREATH TECHNIQUE WITH PARIA MIRAZIMI
We are so excited to welcome back Paria Mirazimi of Athletix Academy for this month’s edition of the Workday Wellness Series! Our favourite mindfulness guest is here to walk you through the equal breath technique, and we are so excited to learn with Paria this month!
At Benchmark, we have an extensive network of people and organizations that we admire for the work they do in our community. We wanted to highlight some of these incredible organizations to raise awareness for the work they do and showcase the best examples of what we believe are the pillars of our community.
This month we want to highlight Caylan McMullan and BriConnect, a consultancy that provides training and advocacy to help ensure society has the capacity to understand and interact with the Deaf community in a positive and inclusive manner. The team at BriConnect noticed many deaf and hard of hearing individuals who had to make do with limited information because many businesses struggle to communicate with those who use sign language and don’t know how to remove barriers to communication on both sides of the equation.
BriConnect works to mitigate discrimination against Deaf people in critical situations through programs including front-line emergency staff that can understand and respectfully interact with the community, aiding with finding employment and business for members of the Deaf community, and raising awareness for the Deaf community to show they are all capable of working, teaching, being professional, and have skill and expertise.
Although many of their clients have expressed frustration at communicating with the Deaf community, BriConnect has worked towards creating easy pathways to education including outreach and informative videos. The challenges Caylan and the BriConnect team have faced are made all the more worth it for the work they’ve done in creating an inclusive community for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and making their daily experiences better.
BriConnect is looking forward to helping more businesses tap into the potential of the Deaf community and work towards a better and more inclusive work environment for all, and we cannot wait to see them achieve their goal.
INTERVIEW
Tell us about BriConnect and the work that you do?
BriConnect is a consultancy that provides training and advocacy to help ensure society has the capacity to understand and interact with the Deaf community in a positive and inclusive manner. We noticed that many Deaf people had to make do with limited information on everything from simple decisions to more complex processes like buying a car or a home, and daily work-related tasks. Many businesses struggle to communicate with people who use sign language and do not know how to remove these barriers, for both their customers and employees.
BriConnect provides customized accessibility consulting, speaking engagements, and support to improve the scope and impact of online media, infographics, and illustrations, and customized American Sign Language courses for businesses. Their clients range from nonprofits to large corporations to local retailers. We work with many other accessibility-focused businesses to provide the best and most up-to-date services.
What are the main goals of the program?
Our mission is to ameliorate discrimination against Deaf people in critical situations by:
- Ensuring that front-line staff and emergency services have the capacity to understand and interact with the Deaf community with positive outcomes and a respectful approach.
- Working towards changing the unemployment levels within the Deaf community by providing Deaf experts and people in the Deaf community with employment and business.
- Showing the wider community that the Deaf are capable of working, teaching, being professional, and have skill and expertise.
What are some of the biggest challenges that you have had to overcome?
Many people/businesses have expressed their frustration at communicating with the Deaf community. We at BriConnect work to show that communication doesn’t only affect those who are deaf and hard of hearing and that the sign language interpreter is there for all parties, NOT just those who are Deaf. We have done a series of 7 videos, which can be seen on our FaceBook page, which best covers a lot of barriers we have faced, both as a business and a community.
What are some of your biggest accomplishments to date?
In 2019, BriConnect was hired by Tim Hortons in Milton. This Tim Horton’s was located near the Deaf High School. Some of the staff had voiced their wish to learn sign language, and a better way to serve the deaf community, which they see every day. Having been contracted by Tim Hortons, BriConnect built a workshop just for Tim Hortons, to better serve Deaf customers. The 2-day workshop was fun, and fully interactive, learning some everyday sign language, and signs that are used for Tim Hortons business, such as “Double-Double, Doughnut, Combo, etc….
Less than a month after the workshop, both Tim Hortons and the local deaf community reached out to us. Tim Hortons told us how much better their overall daily experiences were and that sales increased, and so did customer satisfaction.
What are the goals for the future of BriConnect?
BriConnect is looking forward to providing customized accessibility consulting, speaking engagements, and support to improve the scope and impact of online media, infographics and illustrations, and customized American Sign Language courses for businesses. Along with helping businesses to tap into the potential of the Deaf community, and work towards better and more inclusive work environments for all.
Please show your support for this wonderful organization in any way you can!
DISCOVER BRICONNECT’S FACEBOOK>>>
THE CANADIAN BENEFITS CERTIFICATE PROGRAM STARTS TODAY
The Benchmark team has been given the opportunity to be a part of an incredible Certificate Program, hosted by the HRPA, that will provide a clear understanding of Canadian Group Benefits and a comprehensive overview of benefit programs in Canada, and it starts today!
We are so excited to work with the incredible speakers who are part of this program to help everyone learn more about Canadian Benefits.
We can’t wait to see everyone there!
The Ontario Government has decided not to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. The statutory holiday fulfills the 80th call to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Ontario joins the ranks of New Brunswick, Alberta, and Saskatchewan in not recognizing the holiday.
Given the Province’s decision, the only individuals who will observe the holiday are those within federally regulated industries such as Federal employees and the banks.