Aurora of Central New York

It’s a summer afternoon in August, and Hai Nay Htoo is sitting in a classroom. He and a group of peers watch as their instructor at Whole Me, Inc. gives the day’s lesson about job preparation and training. Like many 19-year-olds, Hai is concerned about the future and all that comes with it: making himself employable, becoming independent and finding a job.

Hai also faces a different set of challenges. He is a deaf refugee who arrived in the U.S. from Burma in 2012.