Cafe run by deaf staff helps break down barriers
Deaf cafe worker Georgia signing an order in Auslan at Tradeblock Cafe in Melbourne. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
Quiet signs of success
A cafe in Melbourne run by deaf staff is helping to break down communication barriers and ready students for the hearing world.
Deaf cafe worker Georgia signing an order in Auslan at Tradeblock Cafe in Melbourne. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
A coffee machine hisses and cutlery clatters against plates, but Tradeblock Cafe is otherwise largely silent.
It is not a hushed, stifled type silence; just a gentle afternoon quiet where speech is scarcely heard, if at all.
This is not a "deaf cafe", but it is certainly a comfortable and welcoming space for anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing.
The baristas, wait staff and kitchen hands all fall within those categories.
At Tradeblock, coffees and a range of meals are ordered via Auslan.
If that sounds like an intimidating prospect, it should not.
Staff at the cafe are extremely patient with those learning to communicate via Auslan. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
An iPad at the counter has an app that clearly explains how to order using sign language, as well as a range of common greetings and expressions.
"With all the modern tablets available, it would have been easy to just have a menu on it where you could directly make your order from," says the cafe's manager, Amanda Joyce.
"That would have defeated the purpose of creating the communication between the hearing person and the deaf person.
"The deaf person is constantly having to find ways to communicate in the hearing world, so we just wanted to turn the tables on that."
While it is open to the public, Tradeblock is part of the adjoining Victorian College for the Deaf.
Cafe manager Amanda Joyce communicates a with the cafe's barista. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
Over on one of the cafe's main tables, two boys from the school fool around during their lunchbreak.
One keeps bringing a bit of a croissant to his mouth, only to put it down so he can sign to his mate another sentence that cannot wait.
Georgia, 18, clears their plates when they go back to class, before heading back to the register.
She was born deaf, but a cochlear implant means her hearing and speech is strong, if a little subdued. She has now been working at Tradeblock for over a year.
"It boosts my confidence and improves my signing," says Georgia.
"It's is something I'd like to continue. I'm continuing on to do full-time at [hospitality college] William-Anglis next year."
She is not the only one keen to continue on in the industry.
Tradeblock cafe employee Jack recently got a job in catering at the MCG. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
Georgia's colleague Jack, who's been at Tradeblock for 10 months, has just got a job at the MCG, where he will work as a buffet attendant.
But the cafe's value extends far beyond up-skilling students in hospitality.
"They're very general skills; things like communication, team work, interpersonal skills," says Ms Joyce.
"Being a deaf person in a hearing world can be a little bit daunting.
"But here, it's a safe and supportive environment where they can build their strategies and become empowered in those areas."
Staff at Tradeblock Cafe. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)