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Deaf residents press council for an Office of Disability and city hiring outreach as vacancies persist
Summary
Deaf and disability advocates urged Riverside leaders to create a permanent Office of Disability, hire staff with disabilities and develop targeted recruitment, highlighting a claimed 73% unemployment rate among deaf and disabled residents and calling for immediate hiring partnerships.
Two public commenters during the Feb. 24 meeting urged the Riverside City Council to establish a permanent Office of Disability and to increase city hiring outreach to people with disabilities.
Kevin Bernhardt, who identified himself as deaf and said he moved to Riverside from New York, asked the council to create an Office of Disability (or Office for the Deaf) and budget staff to coordinate accessibility across police, transportation and education departments. He requested the city set up a model for services, visibility and participation consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and asked the city to hire people with disabilities for staff positions.
Later in the meeting, following a workforce vacancy presentation, an interpreter requested an extended six-minute comment period and reiterated the need for direct recruitment of deaf and disabled residents, noting the previously reported vacancy rate in the city and an asserted 73% unemployment figure among deaf and disabled people. The commenter, who said they held a Ph.D. and had civil-service experience, urged the city to build competitive hiring programs that include disabled applicants and to create training pipelines.
Council members and staff acknowledged the concern and said they would follow up: staff described existing recruitment efforts and the free home-assessment and workforce outreach programs, and council members asked to continue the conversation with HR and the city manager’s office. The council did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting but received public comment and directed staff engagement for follow-up.
