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.: The Valley Chronicle :. Hemet, California
Last week, dozens packed into Premier Pizza in Hemet. A social crowd, adults and children sat around tables and stood at the counter, chatting with each other and catching up with one another's lives.
Yet, despite all the conversations going on at once, the restaurant was largely silent.
Welcome to Deaf Social and Chat Night.
The pizza place's co-owner, Gina Carper, launched the evening back in December to give the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in the San Jacinto Valley a place to come together.
Carper said she saw the need after she began taking classes in American Sign Language. There was just no place for deaf residents to get together and socialize.
The closest place offering such a night out was in Palm Springs.
So, with the help of Roberta Smith of San Jacinto, Carper offered up her restaurant.
She said more than 180 people walked through the doors that evening.
And it has stayed popular. Last week, at least 60 people were on hand, and that was early in the evening. Carper said once college classes let out, she could expect more.
The event, offered the first Tuesday of each month, is a great opportunity to fellowship, signed Robert Thayer of Hemet. He and his wife, Maxine, had been coming to the event for five months.
“This really is the best place in Hemet to meet other people,” Thayer said.
Pam Michel, another Hemet resident agreed, adding that Deaf Social and Chat Night served as a bridge between the deaf and hearing communities. As Carper pointed out, a lot of students of American Sign Language attend the evening, where they get a big welcome.
“They (the deaf and hard-of-hearing) know that you're learning from them. ... They can tell the shy ones and they come up and talk to them,” Carper said.
Added Michel: “This is a good support for the deaf and hearing both to meet each other. I want to say this is the only place that the deaf can get together and communicate, especially with the hearing people who are taking ASL.”
For Paul and Laura Anderson, the evening is one more example of breaking down barriers. Paul, who is deaf, meets with deaf students and their hearing teachers to integrate the children successfully in mainstream classrooms, while Laura, a member of the hearing community, teaches ASL.
The two also are forming a Boy and Girl Scout troop that would bring together deaf and hearing children. They got the idea after helping with a troop campout in Idyllwild.
“We kept thinking what a great experience it was,” Laura said, “A lot of deaf kids don't go to camp.”
They envision the troop as breaking down walls and “bringing together deaf and hard-of-hearing and hearing people.”
That's also how they see the evening at Premier Pizza. “There's a lot of people here,” Laura said as she looked around the room. “I wish there was more access to things like this.”
She and Paul said the Valley could offer more opportunities for the deaf community. For example, Laura said, perhaps the Shakespeare festival at the Bowl could bring in an ASL interpreter one evening. Paul suggested the local theater follow Riverside's example, and offer an open caption movie one night a week.
Needs like that are what drives Smith, the San Jacinto woman who helped Carper get the word out about Deaf Social and Chat Night. The animated, easygoing Smith said, yes, there's a real need for social entertainment in the Valley, but the night at Premier Pizza answers another need - resource gathering.
This month, Smith brought in several speakers to explain services they offered for the deaf community. She got the idea for the speakers after talking to others at the social night.
“That's how you find out what the needs are, is through the socials,” Smith said, adding: “Without the exchange of information, how are we going to help each other?”
Last week, dozens packed into Premier Pizza in Hemet. A social crowd, adults and children sat around tables and stood at the counter, chatting with each other and catching up with one another's lives.
Yet, despite all the conversations going on at once, the restaurant was largely silent.
Welcome to Deaf Social and Chat Night.
The pizza place's co-owner, Gina Carper, launched the evening back in December to give the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in the San Jacinto Valley a place to come together.
Carper said she saw the need after she began taking classes in American Sign Language. There was just no place for deaf residents to get together and socialize.
The closest place offering such a night out was in Palm Springs.
So, with the help of Roberta Smith of San Jacinto, Carper offered up her restaurant.
She said more than 180 people walked through the doors that evening.
And it has stayed popular. Last week, at least 60 people were on hand, and that was early in the evening. Carper said once college classes let out, she could expect more.
The event, offered the first Tuesday of each month, is a great opportunity to fellowship, signed Robert Thayer of Hemet. He and his wife, Maxine, had been coming to the event for five months.
“This really is the best place in Hemet to meet other people,” Thayer said.
Pam Michel, another Hemet resident agreed, adding that Deaf Social and Chat Night served as a bridge between the deaf and hearing communities. As Carper pointed out, a lot of students of American Sign Language attend the evening, where they get a big welcome.
“They (the deaf and hard-of-hearing) know that you're learning from them. ... They can tell the shy ones and they come up and talk to them,” Carper said.
Added Michel: “This is a good support for the deaf and hearing both to meet each other. I want to say this is the only place that the deaf can get together and communicate, especially with the hearing people who are taking ASL.”
For Paul and Laura Anderson, the evening is one more example of breaking down barriers. Paul, who is deaf, meets with deaf students and their hearing teachers to integrate the children successfully in mainstream classrooms, while Laura, a member of the hearing community, teaches ASL.
The two also are forming a Boy and Girl Scout troop that would bring together deaf and hearing children. They got the idea after helping with a troop campout in Idyllwild.
“We kept thinking what a great experience it was,” Laura said, “A lot of deaf kids don't go to camp.”
They envision the troop as breaking down walls and “bringing together deaf and hard-of-hearing and hearing people.”
That's also how they see the evening at Premier Pizza. “There's a lot of people here,” Laura said as she looked around the room. “I wish there was more access to things like this.”
She and Paul said the Valley could offer more opportunities for the deaf community. For example, Laura said, perhaps the Shakespeare festival at the Bowl could bring in an ASL interpreter one evening. Paul suggested the local theater follow Riverside's example, and offer an open caption movie one night a week.
Needs like that are what drives Smith, the San Jacinto woman who helped Carper get the word out about Deaf Social and Chat Night. The animated, easygoing Smith said, yes, there's a real need for social entertainment in the Valley, but the night at Premier Pizza answers another need - resource gathering.
This month, Smith brought in several speakers to explain services they offered for the deaf community. She got the idea for the speakers after talking to others at the social night.
“That's how you find out what the needs are, is through the socials,” Smith said, adding: “Without the exchange of information, how are we going to help each other?”