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http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/S...1149189674744&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099
Services will include discounted hearing aids, free use of video phones
Less than a month after the Forsyth Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing closed, a new center that will serve that same group has opened in the Winston Tower.
North Carolina for Deaf and Hard of Hearing is a nonprofit agency that will serve an estimated 40,000 people in Forsyth and surrounding counties.
About 70 people so far this month have taken advantage of free bus passes and discounted hearing aids, among other services, said Lauren Azevedo, who serves as the president of the new center.
One of the most popular services has been the use of free video telephones, Azevedo said. The phones allow callers to see each other on screens, so that they can communicate in sign language.
Miguel Friday, who was at the center yesterday morning using the videophone, said that videophones are a welcome resource for deaf people.
"This is a wonderful tool that we use often," Friday said.
"A lot of deaf people can come here and job search, talk to their lawyer, talk to their doctor."
Deaf people sometimes struggle with reading comprehension, Azevedo said.
One man who came to the agency was getting notices from a collection agency that he couldn't understand. The agency contacted the collection agency for the man and was able to work out a plan to handle his debts, Azevedo said.
The Forsyth Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing closed after the United Way of Forsyth County decided to allocate the $120,000 it gave the center to another agency. The center had been open 31 years.
The United Way and The Enrichment Center, which housed The Forsyth Center, were concerned about duplication of services.
The Forsyth Center offered similar services to the regional office of the state department of health and human services in Greensboro.
Mark Whisenant, the deaf service specialist at the Greensboro Regional Resource Center with the state division of services for the deaf and hard of hearing, said that his agency goes to the clients it serves and will be expanding its staff.
But his center is the newest and has the smallest staff, Whisenant said, and it is in the middle of one of the largest populations of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the state. The center serves a 10-county area.
"There's still not enough of any of us to provide the services that need to be provided," he said.
"All of the agencies still handle the services reactively rather than proactively."
No matter how willing a regional center is to work with people, there are advantages to having an agency in one's home county, Azevedo said. Her agency is close to the bus station, which many deaf people use.
Azevedo said that she is still working out many of the services that her agency can provide.
She is looking for partnerships with companies that can offer hearing devices for free or at discount prices.
The agency will offer sign language classes throughout the year.
"This is serving a huge unmet need," she said.
Services will include discounted hearing aids, free use of video phones
Less than a month after the Forsyth Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing closed, a new center that will serve that same group has opened in the Winston Tower.
North Carolina for Deaf and Hard of Hearing is a nonprofit agency that will serve an estimated 40,000 people in Forsyth and surrounding counties.
About 70 people so far this month have taken advantage of free bus passes and discounted hearing aids, among other services, said Lauren Azevedo, who serves as the president of the new center.
One of the most popular services has been the use of free video telephones, Azevedo said. The phones allow callers to see each other on screens, so that they can communicate in sign language.
Miguel Friday, who was at the center yesterday morning using the videophone, said that videophones are a welcome resource for deaf people.
"This is a wonderful tool that we use often," Friday said.
"A lot of deaf people can come here and job search, talk to their lawyer, talk to their doctor."
Deaf people sometimes struggle with reading comprehension, Azevedo said.
One man who came to the agency was getting notices from a collection agency that he couldn't understand. The agency contacted the collection agency for the man and was able to work out a plan to handle his debts, Azevedo said.
The Forsyth Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing closed after the United Way of Forsyth County decided to allocate the $120,000 it gave the center to another agency. The center had been open 31 years.
The United Way and The Enrichment Center, which housed The Forsyth Center, were concerned about duplication of services.
The Forsyth Center offered similar services to the regional office of the state department of health and human services in Greensboro.
Mark Whisenant, the deaf service specialist at the Greensboro Regional Resource Center with the state division of services for the deaf and hard of hearing, said that his agency goes to the clients it serves and will be expanding its staff.
But his center is the newest and has the smallest staff, Whisenant said, and it is in the middle of one of the largest populations of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the state. The center serves a 10-county area.
"There's still not enough of any of us to provide the services that need to be provided," he said.
"All of the agencies still handle the services reactively rather than proactively."
No matter how willing a regional center is to work with people, there are advantages to having an agency in one's home county, Azevedo said. Her agency is close to the bus station, which many deaf people use.
Azevedo said that she is still working out many of the services that her agency can provide.
She is looking for partnerships with companies that can offer hearing devices for free or at discount prices.
The agency will offer sign language classes throughout the year.
"This is serving a huge unmet need," she said.