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AdvisorSource.com: Helping hands 12/21/08
Step into the Shelby Township Senior Center on the first and third Wednesday of any month and you’ll encounter the quietest bunch of conversationalists you’ll ever meet. One can expect that type of quiet from a group who largely speaks with their hands.
The group is made up of deaf and hearing-impaired senior citizens from Shelby Township, Sterling Heights and other areas, who meet twice a month for programs organized by Farmington Hills-based Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services, Inc., an organization that exists to meet the needs of deaf citizens through Southeast Michigan. Formed nearly 40 years ago by May Booth and now run by her daughter, Linda, the group is a non-profit organization that seeks to help older adults and their families with a variety of issues.
Monalee Ferrero, Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services’ site coordinator, said the group functions as an advocate for deaf senior citizens, organizing monthly outings and assisting with case work. The goal is to reach out to metro Detroit’s community of deaf senior citizens.
“There is a sense in which there is some isolation. It’s not as isolated as it was when I was growing up, when we didn’t even have a way for deaf people to use the telephone. Now there is TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) and video phones that assist with translation. But there’s still an isolation,” Ferrero said. “And it brings together people who share a common culture and language. American Sign Language is a legitimate language, with its own grammar and syntax, and it brings people together the same way other languages do.”
Twice a month, Ferrero and Shelby Township site coordinator Carol Dunaj organize a lecture, program or outing at the Shelby Township Senior Center. Speakers are translated for deaf guests by Ferrero and translators and often speak on a variety of issues relating to senior life, including health, funeral planning or hobbies such as coin collecting.
“Most of the speakers talk about health or educational issues, but we have some fun things we talk about as well,” Ferrero said. “We do day trips, such as a picnic each year and we’ve done the Clinton River Cruise. Our staff and student interns spend the entire day at the senior center talking to people and helping translate.”
Assisting deaf seniors often provides unique challenges. Deaf and blind senior citizens require specific translators able to utilize a form of communication known as tactile translating, in which communication is conducted by signing words on palms. Others need vocal translators who sit and mouth the words to the client to help them understand what is being said. At the organization’s recent Christmas Luncheon at the Cherry Creek Banquet Center, several translators were required to meet the needs of the attendees.
“Translating for deaf and blind is unique because we have to give each person their own translator who can tactile-translate to them,” Ferrero said. “For instance, if I’m just interpreting for a deaf and blind person that means someone else has to be on stage translating for the speaker to the rest of the guests. We have about five interpreters here just to work with the deaf and blind clients.”
Those who may not have been born deaf but have lost their hearing late in life or become hearing-impaired also are in need of the organization’s services. Not only do they need people to help translate and interpret, but they also are often looking for the social network provided by the organization.
“I’ve had quite a few hard-of-hearing people come in,” Ferrero said. “If they became hard of hearing late in life, they still have a difficult time fitting in with the other seniors. People don’t always want to take the time to translate and interpret or repeat what they said, so sometimes they fit in better with the deaf and hearing-impaired. So they are a big part of our organization as well.”
In addition to offering a social network for senior citizens and providing deaf and hearing-impaired seniors with educational programs, the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services staff also serves as advocates for deaf senior citizens, handling case work and other issues. Many issues face senior citizens, including questions with disability pay and business concerns. Many deaf adults read at a third- or fifth-grade level, Ferrero said, and the staff often has to assist with interpreting letters and legal documents for clients who may not have interpreters.
“I’ve seen people who owe $36,000 because they didn’t understand that they had to notify their former employer when they took social security, or people who were going to lose their house. Sometimes it’s just that someone is getting a lot of junk mail that may look important and they need our assistance with it,” she said. “We work with them and we also have student interns from Oakland Community College who show up at the senior centers to assist them as well. It often takes a lot of phone calls and a lot of time, so advocacy is a pretty big thing for us.”
But in the end, the social networking may be the biggest aspect of the program. Ferrero reiterated that deaf citizens have their own culture and way of communicating, in which certain things that may be considered rude among those with hearing ‹ like tapping on the shoulder or stomping on the ground ‹ are perfectly normal and acceptable ways of communicating between deaf individuals. Because of that culture, Ferrero said, friendships between deaf citizens are often strong and last throughout life.
“We have a lot of deep friendships in our groups,” she said. “Some of these people have met when they’re 3 years old and they’ve been friends all their life, from school to nursing home.”
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services visits the Shelby Township Senior Center the first and third Wednesday of every month. For more information on the services provided, contact the organization at 248-473-1888.
Step into the Shelby Township Senior Center on the first and third Wednesday of any month and you’ll encounter the quietest bunch of conversationalists you’ll ever meet. One can expect that type of quiet from a group who largely speaks with their hands.
The group is made up of deaf and hearing-impaired senior citizens from Shelby Township, Sterling Heights and other areas, who meet twice a month for programs organized by Farmington Hills-based Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services, Inc., an organization that exists to meet the needs of deaf citizens through Southeast Michigan. Formed nearly 40 years ago by May Booth and now run by her daughter, Linda, the group is a non-profit organization that seeks to help older adults and their families with a variety of issues.
Monalee Ferrero, Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services’ site coordinator, said the group functions as an advocate for deaf senior citizens, organizing monthly outings and assisting with case work. The goal is to reach out to metro Detroit’s community of deaf senior citizens.
“There is a sense in which there is some isolation. It’s not as isolated as it was when I was growing up, when we didn’t even have a way for deaf people to use the telephone. Now there is TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) and video phones that assist with translation. But there’s still an isolation,” Ferrero said. “And it brings together people who share a common culture and language. American Sign Language is a legitimate language, with its own grammar and syntax, and it brings people together the same way other languages do.”
Twice a month, Ferrero and Shelby Township site coordinator Carol Dunaj organize a lecture, program or outing at the Shelby Township Senior Center. Speakers are translated for deaf guests by Ferrero and translators and often speak on a variety of issues relating to senior life, including health, funeral planning or hobbies such as coin collecting.
“Most of the speakers talk about health or educational issues, but we have some fun things we talk about as well,” Ferrero said. “We do day trips, such as a picnic each year and we’ve done the Clinton River Cruise. Our staff and student interns spend the entire day at the senior center talking to people and helping translate.”
Assisting deaf seniors often provides unique challenges. Deaf and blind senior citizens require specific translators able to utilize a form of communication known as tactile translating, in which communication is conducted by signing words on palms. Others need vocal translators who sit and mouth the words to the client to help them understand what is being said. At the organization’s recent Christmas Luncheon at the Cherry Creek Banquet Center, several translators were required to meet the needs of the attendees.
“Translating for deaf and blind is unique because we have to give each person their own translator who can tactile-translate to them,” Ferrero said. “For instance, if I’m just interpreting for a deaf and blind person that means someone else has to be on stage translating for the speaker to the rest of the guests. We have about five interpreters here just to work with the deaf and blind clients.”
Those who may not have been born deaf but have lost their hearing late in life or become hearing-impaired also are in need of the organization’s services. Not only do they need people to help translate and interpret, but they also are often looking for the social network provided by the organization.
“I’ve had quite a few hard-of-hearing people come in,” Ferrero said. “If they became hard of hearing late in life, they still have a difficult time fitting in with the other seniors. People don’t always want to take the time to translate and interpret or repeat what they said, so sometimes they fit in better with the deaf and hearing-impaired. So they are a big part of our organization as well.”
In addition to offering a social network for senior citizens and providing deaf and hearing-impaired seniors with educational programs, the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services staff also serves as advocates for deaf senior citizens, handling case work and other issues. Many issues face senior citizens, including questions with disability pay and business concerns. Many deaf adults read at a third- or fifth-grade level, Ferrero said, and the staff often has to assist with interpreting letters and legal documents for clients who may not have interpreters.
“I’ve seen people who owe $36,000 because they didn’t understand that they had to notify their former employer when they took social security, or people who were going to lose their house. Sometimes it’s just that someone is getting a lot of junk mail that may look important and they need our assistance with it,” she said. “We work with them and we also have student interns from Oakland Community College who show up at the senior centers to assist them as well. It often takes a lot of phone calls and a lot of time, so advocacy is a pretty big thing for us.”
But in the end, the social networking may be the biggest aspect of the program. Ferrero reiterated that deaf citizens have their own culture and way of communicating, in which certain things that may be considered rude among those with hearing ‹ like tapping on the shoulder or stomping on the ground ‹ are perfectly normal and acceptable ways of communicating between deaf individuals. Because of that culture, Ferrero said, friendships between deaf citizens are often strong and last throughout life.
“We have a lot of deep friendships in our groups,” she said. “Some of these people have met when they’re 3 years old and they’ve been friends all their life, from school to nursing home.”
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services visits the Shelby Township Senior Center the first and third Wednesday of every month. For more information on the services provided, contact the organization at 248-473-1888.