New programme offers support to deaf community

The Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs and the National Disabilities Unit (NDU) have launched an initiative that will, among other things, help the deaf and hearing impaired better communicate when conducting business in both the public and private sectors.

Speaking during the launch of the Deaf Empowerment Project, Minister Kirk Humphrey said the programme seeks to incorporate the deaf and hearing impaired more into society.

“The Deaf Empowerment Programme is a consolidation of services for the deaf and the hard of hearing, offered through the NDU, and it seeks to facilitate full inclusion of the deaf into all aspects of society by focusing on addressing their most urgent needs – from the provision of communication services to focusing on vocational and rehabilitation services, with the intent to ensure that persons with this sensory impairment are able to function effectively,” he explained.

One area that Humphrey sees as integral in the initiative is the communication support service which, when launched, will help the island’s deaf residents interact with several government agencies.

“The communication support service is intended to meet the most critical needs of the deaf and the hard of hearing – that is, communicating with critical agencies and public and private sector institutions to be able to allow persons to transact business. This communication support service, believe me, will make a big difference to people’s capacity to be able to communicate with other people.

“In essence, what we are trying to do is make sure that when a person who is deaf or hard of hearing goes to a business place, that they can ask a receptionist or they can pull out their phone and that we will have on-call, five persons who are able to communicate using sign language with them and communicate that back to the business place with whom they are interacting.”

The agencies that will utilise this new service include healthcare sites such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and polyclinics, the Welfare Department, Licensing Authority, National Housing Corporation, and the National Insurance Department.

Minister Humphrey explained that under the Deaf Empowerment Programme, several other services would be expanded and reworked to improve the support mechanism for deaf people seeking to integrate more easily into their communities and workplaces.

These include sign language training, interpreting services, and advocacy and consultation.

“We are also going to be looking at information and referral services, guidance and counselling, telecommunication services, and employment training and placement which is important because persons with disabilities are still disproportionately reflected in the unemployment figures in this county,” he added. (SB)