By WKTV Staff
The 2021 return of the Silent Celebration, and a new video podcast produced at WKTV Community Media, are among the upcoming happenings of the local non-profit Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.
D&HHS will host Silent Celebration on Saturday, July 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Johnson Park, 2600 Wilson Ave, Walker.
The event will feature yard games, face painting for kids, a raffle benefiting the organization’s youth program and a town hall discussion about the agency and its goals for the future. In a nod to the ongoing pandemic, food will not be served in 2021 but guests will be invited to bring their own lunches.
The event began as a Family Fun Night only a few months after the agency opened in 1995. It was originally held in September as part of a celebration of Deaf Awareness Month. After a few years, the event transitioned into a daytime picnic that is known now as Silent Celebration.
“It is a truly wonderful event for our Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing communities, a social opportunity where people can come together and see one another, connect and re-connect and build relationships,” Deb Atwood, D&HHS executive director, said in supplied material. “It’s silent because the majority of the people there will be communicating using American Sign Language, but the love people have for each other can be seen from a mile away.”
A recent survey in the state of Michigan found that the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing populations in Michigan are much larger than previously thought, making up nearly 8 percent of the state or close to one million people.
“This is double the previous estimates,” said Atwood, adding that she believes the number is probably closer to 10-to-13 percent.
“In West Michigan,” Atwood said, “22 percent of households have a member that identifies as deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing. Historically, these communities have been left out of important conversations, including critical discussions about their health and community.”
D&HHS’s other activities
D&HHS also offers a variety of programming throughout the year for children, youth and adults, including ongoing, online American Sign Language classes. It also does equity and inclusion training for local businesses and provides interpreters in 27 counties across West Michigan.
And later this summer the organization plans to launch a new 30-minute TV show with WKTV called Hands on Health. To be hosted by two deaf community members, the show will monthly explore health issues from a deaf perspective.
Atwood notes that a study published in 2016 on health literacy in Deaf American ASL users found that health literacy among the Deaf is alarmingly low. When compared to their hearing counterparts, Deaf participants were 6.9 times more likely to have inadequate health literacy. These disparities are caused by several factors, including lower reading levels, communication barriers, fewer opportunities for incidental learning, and especially lack of accessible information. Hands On Health is intended to address that disparity.
“Our agency has long recognized this issue of inadequate health literacy among the people we serve,” said Atwood. “These issues were made alarmingly clear throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe Hands On Health will provide critical and sometimes life-saving health education in a format that is accessible.”
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services is currently seeking funding for the program. Companies interested in getting connected to the project are encouraged to contact Erica Chapin at community@deafhhs.org.
