Making
Your Freedom Bus Stop Events Accessible to the Deaf Community
Deaf & Deaf-Blind
Committee on Human Rights
Between 50 and 75% of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind people are
unemployed. Members of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights
(DDBCHR) are facing the same challenges as the rest of the folks involved
with the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. Deaf, Hard of
Hearing and Deaf-Blind people struggle daily for their rights to housing,
food, clothing, living-wage jobs, education, healthcare and communication.
Several DDBCHR members will ride on the Bus (most likely) from Ohio
to Minnesota and meet the bus in New York City. However, we would like
to work with all of the groups hosting a Bus Stop to help make your
events accessible to your local Deaf Community.
We understand that, as poor people's organizations, it is hard to find
the money to pay interpreters etc. With enough planning, however, it
is definitely possible.
Interpretation:
The key to making your Freedom Bus (or any other) events accessible
to the Deaf Community is to provide qualified sign-language interpreters.
You will want to start making interpreting contacts as early as possible
(sorry if you're getting this guide late!).
A good place to start is the web-site for the Registry of Interpreters
for the Deaf (RID) a national professional association of sign language
interpreters www.rid.org (see attached). The web-site can help you search
for freelance interpreters, interpreting referral agencies and interpreter
training programs in a particular city or state. Most interpreters are
very well connected by email. Asking a local chapter of RID in your
state to forward a request for interpreters for your events to their
members by email, has sometimes worked for us in the past.
Raising money to pay interpreters is always helpful, however there are
some interpreters who may volunteer their time if they are interested
in your cause. It is always important to mention that most other parts
of your event (site, food, Spanish interpreting etc.) are also donated.
Ideally, interpreters who donate their time should be nationally certified.
However, this may not always be possible as you are first making connections
with interpreters in your community.
Asking interpreting agencies to donate 2-6 hours of interpreting services
is sometimes more effective than asking individual freelance interpreters
who depend on their interpreting income for their livelihood (most have
no benefits, insurance, etc. from their jobs).
Another way to find volunteer interpreters is through Interpreter Training
Programs at local colleges and universities. Most students must complete
a certain number of practicum hours before graduating. In the beginning
stages of the DDBCHR, using student interpreters (who get credit for
volunteering) was instrumental in our activities. The only problem with
using students is that many are not prepared to interpret for big events
and workshops. They are great to help with easier kinds of interpreting
(over meals, getting to know your members, for a march etc). Discussing
your interpreting needs with a practicum professor at an interpreter
training program can help you figure out where student interpreters
can best fit into your events.
Depending on your geographical area, professional interpreting services
can cost anywhere from $20-$60+ per hour. Events that run longer than
1 or 2 hours usually require two interpreters to "team" together.
When making a budget for your event, remember to include some money
for interpreting services (as you would for food, housing, site rental
etc.) Raising money for interpreters as an afterthought is usually unsuccessful.
Giving any background information (brochures, agenda, documentation,
music, etc.) to the interpreters prior to your event will help them
to better understand and therefore better interpret your program. Choosing
Your Site:
Lighting is one of the biggest considerations when involving deaf people
(when they cannot see, they cannot communicate). Try to choose a site
with good, bright lighting.
If you show a movie or slides without captions or hold an event outside
at night, be creative (use lanterns, flashlights, spotlights etc.) to
make sure there will be lighting for the interpreters.
For people with mobility disabilities: Try to choose a site that is
wheelchair accessible (has ramps, handicapped accessible bathrooms etc.)
(Over 70% of all people with disabilities are unemployed and we must
make sure they have the access they need to become full participants
in our movement!).
Publicizing
your Event:
If you are fairly sure you will have interpreters for your events, announce
this on your flyers and other publicity:
"Sign Language Interpreters will be provided." Adding the
universal interpreter symbol on the flyer is also a good idea. You can
get it with a quick image search online or cut and paste the symbol
below:
If you prefer, you can ask people to contact you about their needs saying:
"If you need a sign language interpreter, large print materials
or have other special needs please contact us at ****." (It is
a good idea to directly mention sign language interpreters because many
deaf people may not understand having "special needs" to include
interpreting services.)
In your publicity, it is best to use clear, brief and direct sentences.
English is a second language for most deaf people so the more concrete
(and less abstract) you can write, the better.
Think about writing your publicity so that a person learning English
from another country could understand it. Stay away from English idioms
and "fancy" words.
Using concrete examples is always helpful (instead of just saying "We
are fighting for Economic Human Rights" we will usually add some
examples "We are fighting for our rights to have good medial care,
jobs with good pay (enough so we can feed and take care of our families),
affordable apartments and houses..")
Use the active, instead of the passive voice (say, "The DDBCHR
will run this workshop" instead of "This workshop will be
run by the DDBCHR")
If you are calling people, it is great to have a TTY. If you do not
have one, be sure you are familiar with the Relay Service, which you
can access by dialing 711 or 800-750-0750.
Talk to people face-to-face as much as possible. In Deaf Culture, this
is the best way to get information across clearly, show that what you
are saying is important and that you sincerely want them to get involved
in your events.
To make publicity
accessible to people who are Deaf-Blind:
In addition to the ideas above, use the following ideas for people with
vision impairments:
Print all flyers, lists, etc. on white paper in a clear font (Arial
is good), using at least a Bold, 16-point size.
It is not necessary to include any formatting, graphics and photos,
unless you can blow them up.
Spreading the
word in the Deaf Community:
For the most part, the Deaf Community has been and continues to be extremely
isolated from the "non-deaf" hearing community. Most deaf
people will automatically assume that hearing events will not be accessible
to them and would not concern them.
The best way to draw attention to your event is to publicize it through
deaf clubs, churches, schools, social service and other organizations.
To find these organizations in your community you can start by asking
the interpreters you are working with, a local chapter of the RID, interpreting
agencies or other agencies serving the deaf.
Please feel free to use the DDBCHR as a resource as you begin to reach
out to deaf and interpreting communities in your area.
Contact us at:
440-774-8025
or WeR4HumanRights@cs.com
Tips
on Interacting with People who are Deaf
(Developed by the Deaf & Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights)
The best way to communicate is usually through a qualified sign language
interpreter.
Speak to an individual directly, face-to-face, even if you're speaking
through an interpreter (i.e. don't say to the interpreter, "Tell
her I am glad she could come to the conference.")
Remember the interpreter is there to help facilitate the communication.
Try not to ask the interpreter questions directly while he or she is
working. You can, however, use both the interpreter and the deaf person
as resources in terms of the best room set-up, lighting, interpreter
placement etc. for an event.
Keep eye contact with the deaf person as much as possible.
Take time to carefully explain everything and ask "Is it clear?"
before going on.
When an interpreter
is not available, other possible ways to communicate are:
Use gestures, mime and pointing (showing is always more effective than
telling).
The above are often good to use with lip-reading. Deaf people have varying
skills in lip-reading (it is very hard to do!) but you can sometimes
use it for short and simple interactions. Make sure you look directly
at the deaf person and keep hands, moustaches and anything else clear
of your mouth.
Write notes back and forth on paper or a computer. (Keep in mind that
English is a second language for most deaf people. Depending on their
education and background, writing will work better with some deaf people
than others.)
To get a deaf
person's attention:
You can stomp on the floor or bang on the table to send vibrations for
them to feel or wave your hand in his or her line of vision.
You may tap the deaf person lightly on the shoulder, but be careful
it is not too hard.
You could also try waving a flashlight to get a deaf person's attention.
To get a group's attention, flash the lights in the room on and off
a few times or wave your hands.
Distance communication:
Some deaf people communicate using faxes, email and text pagers (though
these are too expensive for many to afford.)
If you have access to a TTY it can be used with most telephones to call
deaf people (who also have TTYs).
If you want to call a deaf person but do not have a TTY, you can use
the Relay Service by calling 711 (from any state in the US).
