Are you like me? Do you like to explore your city to find out-of-the-way, unique restaurants or stores?
Maybe you found a keto bakery that makes nothing but, well, keto!

Or maybe you found a bodega that, outwardly, looks like a usual corner store only to find shelves dedicated to everything on the Scoville Scale… oh fiery!
Or maybe you’re into vintage clothing and stumble upon a Brady-esque shop with, bonus, 1970 prices!

Or, maybe you, like me, set out one bleary Monday morning in search of a Starbucks, but instead find a cozy dive in downtown Vancouver that has been around for 35 years! Cortado anyone?

So, you do like doing that? Oh great! Do you walk or drive? I zoom around on my power chair, so I usually “drive”.
As for me, DeafBlind and ataxic, I cruise the sidewalk in my power chair. I usually focus on what is ahead, beside or under me (…haha…) that I don’t pay attention to the stores or things around me. Plus, being DeafBlind, I almost never strike up a conversation with random strangers. In fact, I only say “Thank you” when motoring. Besides, striking people is frowned upon in today’s society.

Yet, one bleary Monday morning, I did just that, several times!

Oops, the classic misdirect!

I had several conversations with random people!

And, I did that because I had an intervenor! This person allowed me to chat with others, try out new places, have new experiences! It was a blast!

You all know that an intervenor provides visual & auditory (spoken) information to DeafBlind persons.

Here’s what I did: to put into perspective, I’ll also tell you what I’d do without an intervenor.

• First stop: went to TransLink to buy Taxi Savers. Without an intervenor, I usually use Notes app to write a message, showing it to staff, then I’d pay and “Thank you” and leave. Then pay for the savers, sign thank you and leave. With the intervenor, I had a complete convo, exchanging pleasantries, even shared a few jokes.
• Second stop was an Apple Store, I had an in-depth conversation with Kelly, an Apple rep. For 25 minutes, Kelly helped solve my perplexing issues. A few things that you need to consider; I asked the intervenor to nonchalantly read the rep’s nametag; plus the intervenor told me what Kelly was doing on my iPad. Why are these things of concern? All very simple really: I can’t see a nametag to save my life! And I can’t see what Kelly was doing on my iPad.
• Next, I had a notion to checkout Canada Place. So we took the “back” route, e.i., Howe Street. This was not my usual way, the intervenor told me what stores or businesses were on at street level. No intervenor, I never notice, or even stop.
• Upon arriving at Canada Place, had a conversation with an employee at the convention centre; I missed the car show by a day! This guy was obviously a car guy and he informed me what I missed, including a CyberTruck, he even showed me pictures of himself sitting in a Mini! It was a nice chat! He even gave me an event glossy with layout, nice touch! Without an intervenor, I would have opened my notes app; typed “Car Show Where?”, shown that to the nearest staff person who would either gesture “closed” or type “it closed yesterday” Then I’d turn around and leave. No idle chatter, boring.
• The highlight of the morning! Remember on the way to Canada Place, at Howe and Dunsmuir, my intervenor mentioned there was a coffee shop there, Mario’s. So, after bombing out, I decided to try that place. It was tiny oasis of warm coffee smells, friendly baristas, and great environment, just blocks from the Vancouver Stock Exchange!
• The place was homey, with coffee posters all over, it had a friendly vibe! It was something like Cheers; I kinda expected Norm to show up! The menu was relayed, cortado ordered, lunch cooked. The intervenor also nentioned that all three workers, including Mario himself, had strong Italian accents.
• Intervenor told me that Mario was an older gent, with no nametag, only a Sheriff badge adorn his lapel.
• While sipping my most excellent cortado, I started a chat with Mario, “how old is this establishment?”, “33 years,” “Are you from Rome?”, he was puzzled about why I would ask that, until the intervenor mentioned accents, “Oh I see, No, we are from Argentina…”, I was going to ask for more info but just then an influx of coffee-deficient data entry clerks came barging in, asking for triple shot americanos!
• None of this would have happened if I did not have the skills of an intervenor. I would have used my notes app, got the cortado, sipped, then left. No convo, no sheriff badge.

After that, I left happily. Pledging to return to Mario’s!

So, you can see how valuable the intervenor is for individuals who are DeafBlind.

Thank you for reading!