This month we turn our attention to Dungiven based Hands That Talk. This organisation is the only Deaf and hearing community organisation of its kind in the province and has grown to be the largest Deaf community group in the country in only seven years.
Hands That Talk is the only Deaf and hearing community organisation of its kind in the province. We adopt a holistic approach to the plight of the Deaf community by offering wide ranging opportunities, in an attempt to redress the imbalance of unemployment, marginalisation, poor self-esteem and exclusion which deaf and hard of hearing people experience.
Hands That Talk is a project that came into being as a direct response to the enormous deficit in provision for those people in our community who are either deaf or suffer from some form of hearing impairment.
Originally established as a local initiative in Dungiven Community Resource Centre, we have been forced to relocate to larger premises to allow the demands on our resources to be met.
A much larger purpose-built centre on a site provided by Limavady Council will soon replace the current premises in Main Street Dungiven. This generous offer of the lease of a prime site is recognition of the ever-increasing demand for the services we offer and of the dedication of the project members.
We currently employ 8 staff – including 3 deaf tutors. We are in the process of recruiting 1 additional full-time Sign Language tutor. The project relies on volunteers from all sections of the community and since its establishment in February 2000 has grown to be the largest Deaf community group in the country with 29 voluntary workers who can Sign and are Deaf Aware.
Hands That Talk is a cross-community, voluntary organisation which seeks to engender a pride in the Deaf Community, its culture and language and promote a greater interest in and awareness of deaf people, whilst acknowledging the valid contribution that they make to society.
We are accepted as a Registered Charity by the Inland Revenue under reference XR 37241.
The project has five basic aims:
In order to meet these aims we have developed a wide range of services.
Hands That Talk provides a wide range of services for the community.
Our Interpreting Service can be accessed across Northern Ireland. This ensures better access to good and services for the Deaf Community
We provide a number of educational courses, including:
Hands That Talk has produced the following educational resources:
We are currently developing Tutor and Students Manuals to support CACDP BSL Level 1 Units 102 and 103 and Sign Language resources for use in Primary Schools
A key role for the organisation is to facilitate training within the area. For example, we have facilitated the following training courses:
A Tutor Group was formed in 2003 to bring us into line with mainstream education, This group currently has 12 members and we have appointed an advisory tutor to train, advise and monitor our probationary and junior tutors.
This is to ensure:
The creation of tutor group is an important step since Sign Language is now recognised as a language in its own right and of equal status to other European languages.
As well as providing formal training we aim to provide recreational and social activities. Our recent activities have included:
Our social club is a very popular part of our activities. At the club users can play:
On first Friday of every month hearing students from other centres meet to practise their sign language skills with our deaf members. This initiative fosters a real sense of inclusion and community
We also hold regular adult functions such as discos/dances, buffet suppers and barbecues
We believe that we have a key role to play in ensuring that members of the community are kept informed of their rights. We have developed a close link with Citizens Advice to help us do this more effectively. Representatives from Citizens Advice Bureau and RNID visit each month to provide one-to-one advice on Welfare Rights and help with form-filling.
We organise support for parents of deaf children, partners of deaf adults, and children of deaf partners
The Saturday club for children from the Deaf Community was launched in November 03. Seasonal Activities include Cross Community Carol Services, Halloween and Christmas parties, Signed performances. An outdoor pursuits activity day is planned for August 07.
Senior Citizens Luncheon will begin Sept 07 and run monthly.
For more information on our services just contact:
Hands That Talk
72 Main Street
Dungiven
Derry BT47 4LD
t: 028 777 42776
e: info@handsthattalk.co.uk
We are currently working on the launch of The Big Lottery Reaching Communities Award. The award of £500,000 will fund 5 key staff posts, project costs and running costs for the next 5 years.
Other upcoming events include
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