Newsletter Winter 2012Inform

Encouraging befrienders

A fundraising first

The return of Including You

Something for the New Year

CONTENTS News

n Open Day

n A fundraising first

n Sound Advice in Inverurie

n A trip to the bingo

n Joint training in Dingwall

n Congratulations to Margaret!

n Signing at the torch relay

n A BSL Bill for Scotland

n Communication support drop in

International Connections

n From Malawi to Scotland

Services

n Big changes coming!

n Support services get cooking

Community Development

n The return of Including You

n Adult Learning in Aberdeenshire

n Positive mental health

n Health Project volunteers

n Jubilee celebrations

n Encouraging befrienders

Social Enterprise

n Introducing Jose and Pat

n New look leaflets

n Highland website in BSL

n BSL going strong in Aberdeen

n Ferry Fair champions

n Something for the New Year

n We need you

Welcome to our Winter Inform 2012Well it’s safe to say that 2012 has been another very busy year for all of us at Deaf Action. We have joined in national celebrations with a big Jubilee party in June and attendance at the Paralympic torch relay in August. We’re excited to tell you all about a very brave fundraising first for Deaf Action and keep you updated on our befriending service in Dundee. Next year will bring with it a lot of change in benefits and welfare. You can read our article about the coming changes on page 8 to help you understand and prepare for these changes.

As always, we do hope you enjoy your Inform. Please do get in touch to feature in our next edition and to give us all your opinions and feedback.

If you would like to contact us for further information about any of our news articles please contact our Head Office; we will ensure your query is directed to the right department!

Deaf Action, 49 Albany Street, Edinburgh EH1 3QY Tel: 0131 556 3128 Text: 0131 557 0419 Fax: 0131 557 8283 SMS: 07775 620 757

We wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe holiday period! We look forward to your continued support in 2013.

You can also keep up with all of our news and events online at www.deafaction.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Help us to embrace greener options by requesting your future copies of Inform via email.

If you no longer wish to receive a copy, please let us know and we will remove you from our mailing list.

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News

As we go to print we’re busy getting ready for our Open Day scheduled to take place on Friday 7 December. So far we have an impressive list of representatives from external organisations including: British Deaf Association, Deafblind Scotland, Department for Work and Pensions: Access to Work, Edinburgh Hard of Hearing Club, Hearing Link, Hearing Products International, RNIB Scotland, Scottish Council on Deafness and Sense Scotland.

Our Open Day has a full offering from 10am to 4pm; along with stalls and advice, we will be running a series of informative events throughout the day including talks on: Learning Centre Classes, Mental Health, Communication Support, Self Directed Support (SDS) and a demonstration of some of our most popular equipment. We’re really looking forward to the day and will of course be providing a full report in the next edition.

In October we held a similar Open Day at Fife Sensory Impairment Centre to showcase our services in Fife. It provided an opportunity to learn a little sign language through a British Sign Language (BSL) taster and a look at SignVideo, our online interpreting service, in addition to equipment demonstrations.

Open Day

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News

A fundraising firstIn November this year we had our very first fundraising skydive. Sarah Rosie is the brave woman who jumped from an aeroplane in order to raise funds for Deaf Action.

This decision came after meeting her partner’s Grandmother, Nan, who is a Deaf British Sign Language (BSL) user. Until this point Sarah had never experienced deafness or sign language. Since meeting Nan she has taken it upon herself to spread awareness and become involved in raising funds. “I like to be challenged and feel if I’m going to do something for charity then it needs to be out with my comfort zone and something interesting for people giving sponsorship”, said Sarah of her decision to skydive.

Sarah has also been very proactive in learning about deafness, not just fundraising, and has even learned some British Sign Language so that she can communicate with Nan. This is one of the main reasons Sarah wants to get involved, “I hope to raise some awareness and recognition for a charity that does so much”. Sarah chose us as her charity of choice when she realised the level of support and services we provide for people living with all types of sensory needs.

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Sound Advice in InverurieWe created a Sound Advice course, funded by Aberdeenshire Council, to bring together people that have recently experienced hearing loss or those who have had a hearing loss for some time but feel they would benefit from meeting other people. The training was delivered in Inverurie during October and November. Sound Advice is a very positive experience, where people can learn new skills and get information and support.

The course was aimed at people with a hearing loss and who use hearing aids. Family or carers were also invited along for a shared learning experience. A large section of the course focuses on building confidence and becoming more assertive.

We are very pleased to announce that Sound Advice will soon be introduced to Banchory and Ellon; both courses have been made possible with funding from Awards For All. More training will be delivered throughout Aberdeenshire in early 2013.

News

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A trip to the bingo

Joint training in Dingwall

Throughout the year our Equipment team visited bingo halls around Edinburgh to connect with people that may benefit from our service. Working with Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian councils we can provide free equipment on long term loan to deaf and hard of hearing people.

Working with some of the largest bingo organisations in the area we set up our information stall with sample equipment in the foyer of the buildings. Most bingo halls have a nominated day when they encourage people aged 55 plus to attend with a host of special offers and deals. These were the days we attended in the hope of meeting people that may not have been aware of our services.

Our trips to the bingo halls have not been in vain; we have followed up with consultations for many people. We look forward to more visits in the future – do say hello if you see us out and about!

Our Communication Support Agency recently delivered a training course for a group of Deaf children at Dingwall Primary School. The course was a joint training initiative with a social worker from the Deaf Services and Hearing Support Team in Dingwall.

The aim was to explain the role of a social worker for Deaf people and the role of an English/BSL Interpreter. The session was attended by six children aged between 10 and 12 years old and four adults including teachers and support staff. Our training covered topics like; what is a sign language interpreter, where you may have seen an interpreter before, where interpreters can work and what interpreters do. The training was fun and interactive with role plays which let each of the children experience what it was like to work with an interpreter. We received some wonderful feedback after the event and we do hope to go back again some day!

News

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On 30 July this year Mark Griffin MSP launched a British Sign Language (BSL) (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament. The Bill previously received cross party support when debated in the last Parliament, introduced by Cathie Craigie, but was then put on hold due to elections.

The proposed Bill seeks to increase awareness of BSL and improve the services available for Scotland’s Deaf population. A requirement would be placed on Scottish Ministers to develop a BSL strategic plan, highlighting the action they will take to increase BSL awareness. Public authorities would also be required to develop plans, which would outline what action they will take to increase BSL awareness among staff.

The proposals also suggested a Scottish Minister for BSL be appointed, who would update the Scottish Parliament on the action public authorities are taking in relation to BSL.

The consultation is used to develop the proposed Bill and make sure that a range of views are collected. The consultation period lasted over 14 weeks and finished on 7 November 2012. Over 1,100 responses were received, a remarkable number considering the average Members Bill receives 40 responses. Deaf Action submitted a response strongly in support of the Bill as did many of our members and staff; we now look forward to the development of this Bill.

A BSL Bill for Scotland

Congratulations to Margaret!

Signing at the torch relay

Margaret Lawrie, who has been active within Deaf Action and the deaf club for many years, was recently presented with the Francis Maginn award to recognise her hard work and contribution to the Deaf Community in Edinburgh and Scotland. The award was given to Margaret by the British Deaf Association during their recent conference.

Congratulations Margaret on a well deserved award! The Edinburgh Signing Choir was very excited to be asked to perform at the Paralympics Torch Flame Festival in Edinburgh earlier this year. This marked the first time the Paralympics torch toured Scotland!

The signing choir preformed on stage with a singing choir to hundreds of spectators at Meadowbank Stadium. They shared the bill with professional entertainers, dancers and previous X Factor winner Joe McElderry. Thanks to Sing in the City, www.choiredinburgh.co.uk, for sharing images of the event and well done to the signing choir; they preformed the Take That song Rule The World.

News

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From Malawi to ScotlandMalonje is a Deaf student from Malawi; we first met when Deaf Action were working in partnership with Malawi National Association of the Deaf (MANAD). He took some time out from his studies to share his views with us.

What are your thoughts on Scotland?I would like to thank Scottish people and the Scottish Deaf community in particular for a warm welcome. This is a great experience I am having in this foreign country. To me, Scotland is a nice country, nice people and its culture. There are a lot of interesting places like numerous castles, Queen’s palace, Forth road and railway bridges that I have visited.

Tell us about your studies.Am doing Masters of Social Science Inclusive and Special Education with Moray House. This is a one year programme. Will end in April 2013. My studies are going well although some of the subjects Malawi do not offer. As such am lacking background in these subjects. This is a challenging situation considering short time frame and workload. The course is rewarding, you learn a lot about people’s lives and challenges they face, especially disadvantaged groups. I hope I will go home with good grades.

Were you involved with MANAD when they were working with Deaf Action? Not so much. By the time Deaf Action was training sign language interpreters and holding sign language curriculum workshops I was at university.

How will you use your studies when you return to Malawi? My studies here are very important to the lives of every individual. I am not only learning about Deaf communities but also including those who are at a disadvantaged position. I think that once I return to Malawi, I will work with the Deaf community. But am yet undecided at what capacity. Whether it will be in MANAD or somewhere else.

We wish Malonje all the best with his studies and future career.

International Connections

Communication support drop inFor years we have been running a communication support drop in service for Deaf BSL users in Edinburgh. In 2013 we will be expanding this service to our Dundee office.

The communication support drop in sessions provides communication support free of charge and is used for help with: making telephone calls, writing letters, explaining letters and completing some forms. Our communication support drop in will take place every Tuesday from 10am until 12pm.

Our first session will begin on 8 January; all are very welcome to attend.

Services

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As you may already be aware there are a lot of changes taking place that will affect the benefits that people may be entitled to; the changes will very likely impact on people with a hearing or sight loss. We want to make sure that all our supporters and clients are aware of these changes so that they can prepare and make sure they do not lose any entitlements.

Here is a brief overview of some of the changes taking place; we would recommend seeking advice and support when completing claim forms for the new benefits.

Employment Support Allowance (ESA)New claims for Incapacity Benefit have stopped and customers now have to claim a new benefit called Employment Support Allowance. People that already receive Incapacity Benefit will continue to do so but gradually each claim will be reviewed. The review will check if the customer should be claiming ESA or if the customer should be directed to the Job Centre to register for work. If you receive a review claim form we would recommend you do not ignore this form as it will affect the benefit you receive.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will finish and a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PiP) will be introduced. New claims for PiP will begin in Scotland from June 2013. Current claims for DLA will be reviewed between October 2013 and March 2016. A claim form to receive PiP will have to be completed along with an assessment. People over 65 years old that receive DLA will not have their claim reviewed. Full details of PiP have yet to be finalised but we recommend that you do not ignore any mail received from the Department for Work and Pensions. Do seek advice regarding letters and review forms.

During 2013 the following benefits will stop:- Income Support- Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based)- Employment Support Allowance (Income Related)- Child Tax Credit- Housing Benefit- Social Fund

Another new benefit will be introduced in 2013 called Universal Credit. We will provide more information on this new credit in our next newsletter. If you are worried about changes or any letters you receive please do make an appointment with our social workers or advice staff.

Big changes coming!

Support services get cookingWe are delighted to begin cooking classes at our Supported Living centre at Slateford Green in January. Our Health Project made a successful application for funding from Community Food and Health (Scotland). The money provided will be used for healthy living and cookery classes for our clients that benefit from supported living assistance.

The classes, organised by the Community Health team, will be held twice a month at Slateford Green.

CommunityDevelopment

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The return of Including You If you are a regular reader of Inform you may remember our Including You project, for hard of hearing people, that ended in 2011. One of the products of Including You was the local Including You information guide which proved very popular for informing, advising and assisting newly diagnosed hard of hearing people. The popularity of these guides prompted us to seek funding to allow us to create local guides for other areas of Scotland.

We are thrilled to announce that we are currently working on two information guides; one for the Tayside area and another for Aberdeenshire. The guides will be filled with local contacts, practical advice and facts including: how to care for hearing aids, coping at home and at work, accessing health and other services, and communication tactics. We will of course keep you updated on the production of the guides and look forward to your feedback.

Adult Learning in Aberdeenshire Our range of Adult Learning classes in Aberdeenshire began in October with an IT class delivered from Banff and Buchan College’s IT department in Fraserburgh. The course is designed specifically for hard of hearing people who struggle to keep in touch with friends, family or local services.

There is no prior experience needed to join the course as it begins with the basics of mouse and keyboard control and progresses to working with Microsoft Windows, how to search the internet and how to create a simple Word document. Once attendees have developed confidence with their IT skills the course introduces sending and receiving emails, adding attachments and internet security.

Our courses are kept small to allow for a personal experience in a comfortable environment. To date the attendees of our first IT course in Aberdeenshire have provided very positive feedback. We will be introducing more Adult Learning opportunities in the area next year; all of which have been made possible with funding from Awards for All, a Lottery grants scheme.

Positive mental healthIt has now been over one year since we hosted Scotland’s first Healthy Deaf Minds (HDM), established to create a community group interested in mental health issues, with the latest event focussing on good mental health.

Traditionally events have been held in Edinburgh or Glasgow but recently the HDM team have been introducing the concept of Healthy Deaf Minds to Deaf communities in other areas of Scotland which included a small event in Inverness. Plans are currently in place to bring HDM to Dundee, Aberdeen and the Borders. Attendees at each event have remained steady and all events have been met with very encouraging feedback. Healthy Deaf Minds began life as a project funded by ‘see me’ and is now sustained with funding from NHS Lothian.

Community Development

Our Health Project, funded by NHS Lothian, has been in existence for ten years! This year we ran a series of workshops for Deaf volunteers who have selected their own areas of interest to work within. Our volunteers, with the support of our staff, now plan to engage the Deaf Community in Edinburgh and Lothian. The projects our volunteers are working on focus on older people, children and families, young adults and communication.

Projects include:Drop in for Deaf parents: Tania has set up a regular drop in at a local Community Café in Edinburgh. It is hoped that deaf parents will pop along and either catch up with old friends or meet new ones. The drop in is scheduled for the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.

Deaf Blether: Carri is concentrating her skills on encouraging more communication within the Deaf community in Scotland. To begin she has created a Facebook page to share information and find contacts.

Plans for next year include a revamped Driving Theory Course for young adults and a resource to gather information on some of the useful Community Cafes around Edinburgh.

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Our Sound Sense project in Dundee is well established and over the last six months has been encouraging more befriending relationships for Deaf and hard of hearing people.

Some of the recent activities undertaken by members of the project include a lunch time visit to Bhartyia Ashram in Dundee and a talk by the Stroke Association at our Roseangle office, both of which were very well received. In the past members visited the House of Dun in Montrose and enjoyed a British Sign Language interpreted tour of the property.

The project continues to help renew hobbies and recently organised a weekly game of scrabble for one

member, whilst another member is currently being supported to become involved in one of Deaf Action’s weekly lipreading groups.

Encouraging befrienders

Jubilee celebrationsThe Golden Amber Club, a weekly club for older Deaf people, held some wonderful celebrations throughout the year. One of the most impressive being the Jubilee Celebrations held in June. The group held a regal themed tea room and a fancy dress competition. The party attracted attendees from all over Scotland with a full bus arriving from Dundee!

Health Project volunteers

Social Enterprise

This year marks ten years since we first started working with NHS Highland and Highland Council to deliver communication support services in the area. Recently we have been working to deliver multimedia translations. These multimedia clips translate written English into British Sign Language, which greatly improves accessibility for Deaf BSL users.

To date eight video clips are available on Highland Council’s website. They include information about: accessing Highland Councillors, Chief Executive’s Service, Education, Culture and Sport including High Life Highland, Finance, Housing, Planning and Development, Health and Social Care and Transport, Environmental and Community Services.

Councillor Drew Millar, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Community Safety, Public Engagement and Equalities Committee said: “I am delighted that we now have BSL information on Council services available. This clearly demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that people are treated fairly and with respect as we work towards meeting specific duties of the Equality Act (2010).”

The web pages were developed as a result of feedback from the Deaf community in the Highlands. The clips will also be published on DVD and will be available in Council Service Points and the Deaf Centre in Kenneth Street.

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New look leafletsYou may have noticed our new colourful redesigned leaflets that were introduced this year. We’ve been busy sending our new leaflets out to contacts and organisations. If you would like to receive our leaflets for display or information purposes, please do let us know.

Introducing Jose and Pat

We recently met up with Jose and Pat Pazos to ask them what they thought about Deaf Action’s services. Jose and Pat have been married for 25 years and living in Edinburgh during most of those years. They have made use of Deaf Action’s Social Work, Adult Learning and Equipment services over the years. Recently they have been using our Communication Support Agency very regularly and we wanted to make sure we were delivering the best service to meet their needs. Jose, profoundly Deaf, is originally from Spain; neither English nor BSL is his first language.

Jose recently had to attend a lot of medical appointments; both he and Pat found that having one of our BSL/English interpreters present made communication at their appointments much easier. Jose commented on how much he enjoyed having an interpreter at his medical appointments while Pat mentioned that the interpreters did wonders in assisting Jose make himself understood.

Our interpreters took a unique approach in working with Mr and Mrs Pazos; they found that using very visual techniques worked best. As Jose is a Spanish national they discovered that using Spanish lip patterns when signing some words aided communication. “I would recommend Deaf Action to anybody, they have been such a wonderful support to us, I don’t know what we would have done without them”, Mrs Pazos told us. We are delighted that Jose is now on his road to recovery and are happy to have played a part in helping Mr and Mrs Pazos during a difficult time.

Highland website in BSL

Social Enterprise

BSL going strong in AberdeenWe have been cheered by the popularity of our BSL training course in Aberdeen. The course began due to demand from NHS staff in the area. Our Introduction to BSL and Level 1 course was very well received; it was attended solely by

NHS staff members. We are currently running our BSL Level 2 course which includes NHS staff in addition to members of the public. We are now looking forward to organising an Introduction to BSL in Aberdeen in January.

Our next term of training courses offer something new and exciting; lots of people have told us they are interested in finding out more about BSL or Deaf Culture but are not sure if it is the right choice for them. To help our students choose the right training course we are introducing short tasters. In January 2013 we will be offering British Sign Language taster training and Deaf

Awareness taster training. The tasters will be half day informative sessions that will allow students to make informed decisions on which course will suit their needs. These sessions will also be available to organisations that may want to provide refresher courses for staff or to introduce equality and accessibility topics.

We will be launching our shorter courses in Dundee with ambitious plans to introduce them to other parts of Scotland. These sessions will be suitable for absolute beginners and will provide a wonderful insight into Deaf Culture and Deaf Language.

Our SQA accredited BSL courses will be returning to Edinburgh in February 2013. If you would like to find out more about any training at Deaf Action please contact our training co-ordinator on learn@deafaction.org or 0131 556 3128.

Ferry Fair championsOur busy charity shop in South Queensferry has this year won the best dressed window at the local Ferry Fair competition for the third year in a row! We are very proud of this achievement which of course would not be possible without the hard work and dedication from our volunteers. Well done to all that worked to create the award winning window display; we’re now keeping our fingers crossed to make it four in a row!

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Registered Address: Deaf Action, 49 Albany Street, Edinburgh EH1 3QYTel: 0131 556 3128 Text: 0131 557 0419 Fax: 0131 557 8283 SMS: 07775 620 757Email: admin@deafaction.org Web: www.deafaction.org

Deaf Action is a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland. Registered Charity Number SC 009898. Registered Company Number SC 396876.

We need youOur charity shop would simply not exist without our tireless team of volunteers; thanks to them our shop is open Monday to Saturday and over busier periods on a Sunday too.

Our volunteers have told us that the reasons they volunteer their time with us is because: it challenges them, they learn new skills, it looks good on their CV, they meet lots of new people and it’s for a good cause.

We are now looking for more volunteers to join our charity shop. We need you to commit to a minimum of three hours per week; in return we can give you quality work experience in a friendly environment. To find out more about volunteering call into our shop on South Queensferry’s High Street or call 0131 331 5889.

Something for the New Year