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canadaeast.com - Join Metro's deaf community on a Silent Walk | By Margaret - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
Among the many roles Laurie Vincent plays as executive director of South-East Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SEDHHS) are those of fundraiser and creator of community awareness.
While the agency does receive funding from the United Way as a partner agency, Laurie and the board of directors do not want to depend entirely on outside funding and have in the past sponsored golf tournaments, roast beef dinners and, last spring, sold tickets on an Apple iPad.
Now they're inviting members of the hearing community to join with the deaf community in a Silent Walk on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Riverview's Riverfront Park, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (registration at 9 a.m.) to raise money to support the work of SEDHHS, to get to know our deaf neighbours and bridge the gap between the two communities.
SEDHHS is a non-profit agency which since 1988 has provided services for between 650 and 700 clients, aged 18 years and over, who live between the Nova Scotia border and all the way up the east coast to the Quebec border.
"Our goal," Laurie says, "is to empower clients to live independently and productively, with full access to opportunities that are readily available to persons who hear."
As a result of keeping this goal at the forefront, Laurie's day is never dull. One minute she or administrative assistant Sarah MacKenzie could be taking registrations for one of the four levels of American Sign Language (ASL) classes taught by certified ASL instructors and the next advocating with various levels of government on behalf of deaf seniors in nursing homes, ensuring staff there is trained to communicate with them. She schedules ASL interpreters for clients meeting with doctors, lawyers, social workers, or employers in the event of a crisis situation at work and uses also her own ASL skills in one-on-one meetings with clients dealing with complex issues.
One situation with which she's currently dealing involves a client with Usher's Syndrome, a relatively rare genetic disease that causes deafness and blindness. The client has been deaf since birth and now vision is rapidly deteriorating. Laurie has called on the CNIB and the Canadian Deaf-Blind Association to partner with and to help the client and immediate family learn tactile sign language and Braille, so they can continue to communicate with each other.
Regular programming at SEDHHS includes ASL classes, Levels I through IV, beginning the week of Sept. 19, and taught by certified instructors Tobie Martin and Patricia Oulton; Baby and Toddler Sign, beginning the week of Sept. 26, for hearing or deaf children and a Parenting Program to help deaf and hearing parents, also provided by Tobie Martin; and Community Workshops where the deaf and hard of hearing communities can learn about a range of topics, including nutrition, seniors issues, financial advice and health with the aid of Interpreters.
ASL classes are offered three times a year, beginning in January, April and September. They run for 10 weeks, one night a week for three hours instruction or a total of 30 hours.
"They do not qualify you to become a professional sign language interpreter or to represent a deaf person in any legal capacity, but they will help you to communicate with a family member, friend or colleague who is deaf," Laurie says. "However, for people who do want to become a sign language interpreter, completion of all four levels, which we offer, is recognized for entrance into the Interpreter Training Program at Nova Scotia Community College, Dartmouth campus."
The Baby (newborn to one year) and Toddler (one to two years) Sign Classes are taught to mothers and babies together by Tobie Martin, who now has a cochlear implant and is the mother of two hearing children.
When they were infants, she taught them a few basic signs, for example the sign for milk or teddy bear, so they could communicate their needs without resorting to crying out of frustration. Mothers of both hearing and deaf babies have found the early classes to be a useful tool in helping their children communicate.
----
WHAT: Silent Walk
WHEN: Saturday, from 10 a.m. until noon (Registration begins at 9 a.m.)
WHERE: Riverview's Riverfront Park
DETAILS: Pledge Sheets are available at South-East Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, 1690 West Main St., Moncton. You must raise at least $20 to walk. If your raise $50 or more you will receive a SEDHSS T-shirt. There will also be a prize for the person who raises the most pledges. Water and snacks will be provided.
CONTACT: For more information on the Silent Walk or to sign up for the classes mentioned in the article, call Sarah at 859-6101 or e-mail seds@nb.aibn.com
Among the many roles Laurie Vincent plays as executive director of South-East Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SEDHHS) are those of fundraiser and creator of community awareness.
While the agency does receive funding from the United Way as a partner agency, Laurie and the board of directors do not want to depend entirely on outside funding and have in the past sponsored golf tournaments, roast beef dinners and, last spring, sold tickets on an Apple iPad.
Now they're inviting members of the hearing community to join with the deaf community in a Silent Walk on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Riverview's Riverfront Park, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (registration at 9 a.m.) to raise money to support the work of SEDHHS, to get to know our deaf neighbours and bridge the gap between the two communities.
SEDHHS is a non-profit agency which since 1988 has provided services for between 650 and 700 clients, aged 18 years and over, who live between the Nova Scotia border and all the way up the east coast to the Quebec border.
"Our goal," Laurie says, "is to empower clients to live independently and productively, with full access to opportunities that are readily available to persons who hear."
As a result of keeping this goal at the forefront, Laurie's day is never dull. One minute she or administrative assistant Sarah MacKenzie could be taking registrations for one of the four levels of American Sign Language (ASL) classes taught by certified ASL instructors and the next advocating with various levels of government on behalf of deaf seniors in nursing homes, ensuring staff there is trained to communicate with them. She schedules ASL interpreters for clients meeting with doctors, lawyers, social workers, or employers in the event of a crisis situation at work and uses also her own ASL skills in one-on-one meetings with clients dealing with complex issues.
One situation with which she's currently dealing involves a client with Usher's Syndrome, a relatively rare genetic disease that causes deafness and blindness. The client has been deaf since birth and now vision is rapidly deteriorating. Laurie has called on the CNIB and the Canadian Deaf-Blind Association to partner with and to help the client and immediate family learn tactile sign language and Braille, so they can continue to communicate with each other.
Regular programming at SEDHHS includes ASL classes, Levels I through IV, beginning the week of Sept. 19, and taught by certified instructors Tobie Martin and Patricia Oulton; Baby and Toddler Sign, beginning the week of Sept. 26, for hearing or deaf children and a Parenting Program to help deaf and hearing parents, also provided by Tobie Martin; and Community Workshops where the deaf and hard of hearing communities can learn about a range of topics, including nutrition, seniors issues, financial advice and health with the aid of Interpreters.
ASL classes are offered three times a year, beginning in January, April and September. They run for 10 weeks, one night a week for three hours instruction or a total of 30 hours.
"They do not qualify you to become a professional sign language interpreter or to represent a deaf person in any legal capacity, but they will help you to communicate with a family member, friend or colleague who is deaf," Laurie says. "However, for people who do want to become a sign language interpreter, completion of all four levels, which we offer, is recognized for entrance into the Interpreter Training Program at Nova Scotia Community College, Dartmouth campus."
The Baby (newborn to one year) and Toddler (one to two years) Sign Classes are taught to mothers and babies together by Tobie Martin, who now has a cochlear implant and is the mother of two hearing children.
When they were infants, she taught them a few basic signs, for example the sign for milk or teddy bear, so they could communicate their needs without resorting to crying out of frustration. Mothers of both hearing and deaf babies have found the early classes to be a useful tool in helping their children communicate.
----
WHAT: Silent Walk
WHEN: Saturday, from 10 a.m. until noon (Registration begins at 9 a.m.)
WHERE: Riverview's Riverfront Park
DETAILS: Pledge Sheets are available at South-East Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, 1690 West Main St., Moncton. You must raise at least $20 to walk. If your raise $50 or more you will receive a SEDHSS T-shirt. There will also be a prize for the person who raises the most pledges. Water and snacks will be provided.
CONTACT: For more information on the Silent Walk or to sign up for the classes mentioned in the article, call Sarah at 859-6101 or e-mail seds@nb.aibn.com