Deaf community to celebrate. Ohio

[Miss-Delectable]

Deaf community to celebrate center

At the Deaf Community Resource Center, which has its grand opening from 4 to 8 p.m. today, May 9, employees said they know intimately the challenges of their deaf clients and families. That's because most of the staff is deaf or hard of hearing.

The center, at 3333 Stanley Ave., is a dream come true for many in the local deaf community after years of planning and hard work.

The idea started with a small group of people "who wanted to have a deaf-friendly place where the deaf could come and be comfortable" and where "they could also receive good quality services and support for themselves and their families," Deron Emmons, chief executive of the center and a licensed social worker, said through a signing interpreter.

He said the center wasn't opened in opposition to services long provided by the hearing community. "We just felt it was our time to pay it forward. We've got the skills and we've got the experience. We can work with this community."

The founders captured $600,000 in grants from several sources, including the Ohio Department of Health and Wright State University. All 14 staff members are proficient in sign language.

"I just think we can make the connection with our deaf clients" in ways that other agencies can't, said Michelle Anthony, the center's vocational team leader and deaf youth coordinator.

The center opened in August and has been growing steadily, she said. It provides vocational training and job placement services, education and support to families of infants identified as having hearing loss, and a variety of case management and counseling services.

It also offers activities for deaf youths and for hearing children of deaf parents. For more, call (937) 227-3272 or visit Home.