NEW YORK - Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Marcela Gonzalez never threaded a needle. But now, she spends countless hours in front of her sewing machine - designing face masks that allow children with a hearing impairment to read lips.

“I have to cut it and then place the clear fabric and then I have to sew the middle so that the person wearing this face mask will have a clear window around the lips and the person who is deaf or hard of hearing can see the lips easily," Gonzalez said.

The work is a natural extension of her job. Gonzalez is a hearing education service supervisor and teacher with the city’s Department of Education. 

She says that her students need to read lips for not only communication, but safety. 

“To know now it’s time to stop, now it’s time to make a right, I can't cross the street because there is a car," Gonzalez explained.

And for parents of children that are deaf or hard of hearing, wearing masks have made communication much more difficult.

“When we’ve gone out for some walks recently you notice that things are more muffled. Especially if he’s on his left side he won't hear anything and he can’t see my mouth moving," said Patrick Breen, a parent.

It’s stories like this that inspired Gonzalez to find a solution.

She taught herself how to sew, used her own money to buy supplies, and has made hundreds of masks with clear windows. 

Gonzalez says that providing the right support for children has always been her mission. 

"When I'm making them I'm thinking of my students and my students’ families so it's a great feeling to be able to help during these hard times," she said.

So, for providing her students with the care and support they need during the coronavirus pandemic, Marcela Gonzalez is our New Yorker of the Week.