From the ground up, a deaf Salem advocate builds a support network

When Chad Ludwig moved to Oregon a decade ago, he found the state did little to ensure deaf Oregonians could access information and communicate.

That was in contrast to his home state, California, which has for years funded services like sign language interpretation and job placement specifically for deaf and hard of hearing residents. Oregon was at the time the only western state without direct services, Ludwig said.

“There’s really nothing here in the state,”…