.there are people who are unable to work due to health, multiple disabilities, and etc
Exactly.
He might also have severe injuries, that he didn't mention.
I've seen a woman, she is losing her hearing, got epilepsy, and struggle with movements after a single car accident.
I don't think he gets public assistance based only on deafness. I think he has something else, that qualifies him.
If he lives alone, and doesn't have dependents he won't qualify even for food stamps(if only the reason is deafness).
I have 2 dependents, and in order to qualify, our income must be below $2100. Which is not possible to make living here.
Apartments in our area easily cost way more, like $2600 per month and above. We moved here, indeed because I(deaf person) struggled with jobs, too.
People with poor education, and poor English skills can find jobs too. My husband doesn't speak English yet, and his past education has nothing to do with in the U.S.
When we arrived to the U.S(5 years ago) he took all possible kinds of jobs - night caregiving, moving, helping to fix air conditions and freezers(this job he did for tips only in exchange for training). He now works as a manager at the local wholesale warehouse and makes some sufficient income at one job. He still struggles with English.
I also did babysitting, caregiving, cleaning jobs, and worked for free at the startup companies in exchange for U.S experience, to earn good reputation among tech, build a solid resume, and references.
So, we both been quite busy these years. Our children were too small for school, and we couldn't afford childcare back then. Things are getting much better for us though, I find life in the U.S much easier than a life in a third world country, where deaf people and people with disabilities don't get even minimum accommodations.(for example if you are on wheelchair, you won't even find accessible transport).
I cried when I entered to the local community college and they provided me with CART accommodations. I cried at my counselor's office, because I could not believe that such technologies are available. I finished the public school, and the university in my country without any kind of help. When everyone had free afternoons, I was sitting library/home and self-studying most of the time, because I wasted time at school, not hearing, and not being able to participate and understand a thing.
I can see there a lot of opportunities in the U.S, I think everyone(who isn't struggling with severe disability) can get them. Deafness is not a disability in this case.
Also, I forgot to mention - there are plenty free online, captioned educational resources, that can prepare anyone for a nice career. Besides the college, I've been actively taking free online courses on Coursera(auditing is free), Udacity, Cybrary and other online resources.