Bridging the Communication Gap
First responders and deaf consumers work together to identify ways to improve communication between the two groups
Donicé R. Kaufman, Bridges’s Director of the Living Well Program, is this week’s guest blogger.
For a hearing person, the idea of trying to communicate with a deaf person can be daunting, especially in the midst of an emergency. For those who have any type of hearing loss, the language barrier can cause serious problems.
So, we invited CEPIN (Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network) to lead an 8-hour workshop on emergency and disaster preparedness between first responders and people with hearing loss. We worked hard examining different aspects of effective communication, cultural differences, and perspectives. First responders learned about Deaf culture and issues of consumers with hearing loss dispelling myths and aiding understanding. Consumers learned the perspective and job requirements of first responders generating awareness and fostering trust.
Despite the differences between hearing and non-hearing consumers, emergency and disaster preparedness is remarkably similar for everyone:
1. Always keep a list of any medical conditions, allergies, medications, etc. on your person.
2. Prepare an emergency kit to include items such as water, snacks, medications, flashlights, and extra batteries for assistive listening devices.
3. Make sure you have a plan BEFORE an emergency happens and PRACTICE!
Get prepared. Learn what you can do to stay safe and alive. And if you want to know more, call me at Bridges. I’m already planning a fire safety class for September. I look forward to seeing you soon.
~Donicé
Welcome New Neighbors
Please welcome Community Food Advocates staff Cassi Johnson, Shavaun Evans, and Brian Zralek (l-r).
So if you’ve not been by the agency in a while, you might not know that we have new neighbors, Community Food Advocates. They, like us, are a nonprofit and have been through a merger recently. Unlike us, they are about food. Specifically, they work to create sustainable food systems and end hunger. Wow. That is a giant, lofty mission.
We’re thrilled to have them next door. While we don’t grow food, we like food. Having our new neighbors next door only a short time has done two things around here. First, it has inspired us to elevate our game. We’re having a lunch and learn with them in a few weeks, sort of a show and tell. We are excited to tell them what we do and eager to learn what they do. Personally, watching them get fired up about what they do only gets me more fired up about what I do. But, some of us are more competitive than others.
Second, it opens up doors of collaboration. Nonprofit organizations, I believe, are more likely than many for profit companies to collaborate, or share, and I’m looking forward to watching our youth center’s collaborative garden grow this fall.
So, if you’ve not met our new neighbors, come say (or sign) hello. They are about to learn some ASL!
Come see us soon.
If There Was a Disaster Today, Are You Prepared?
Donicé R. Kaufman, Bridges’s Director of the Living Well Program, is this week’s guest blogger.
Last year I found a website on preparing for disasters. I wondered to myself, “Are we prepared? Does Nashville know what to do?” And, “What about people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind? Will they get the information they need to survive a disaster?”
Ironically, Nashville experienced its own disaster with a flood in May 2010. Several of my Deaf clients suffered damage to their homes and vehicles. Add to that the frustration experienced when insurance companies, contract workers, and yes, even FEMA balked at paying for interpreters.
It was obvious the hearing public needs to be educated about ADA, interpreters, and Deaf culture; those with hearing loss need to be educated about the process of acquiring government aid and their rights to fair and equal language access.
What is exciting for Bridges and those with various levels of hearing loss is that an 8-hour workshop on August 10th will bring together twenty Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind community leaders with 20 hearing First Responders such as firefighters, law enforcement officers, the Red Cross, and EMTs. Both groups will focus on specific communication needs for those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind. It will be taught through Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN).
For communication to be improved between our Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and First Responders during an emergency, it is incumbent upon us to work and plan together NOW. We must begin to work together to educate Nashville about the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness. Are you prepared?
~Donicé
Happy New Year!
GNASH, the Predators Mascot, was on hand to help Gerry Helper, Predators Foundation President (left), present a grant to Tricia and Sallie that will help begin the Bridges Youth Fitness Initiative.
Once again, it’s the start of a new fiscal year, and I’m thrilled! Time to start over – new board members (not that the old ones are bad), fresh supplies, a clean slate. It’s a great time to be part of the planning and excitement.
But in all the planning and organizing for next year and beyond, I don’t want us to forget to celebrate all that happened this year. We have a new website, expanded after-school and wellness programs, the first ever successful fundraising event for the Minnie Pearl scholarship program…the list goes on. (We celebrated today with candy! Actually, how I celebrate everything around here…)
Even the challenges - a difficult economy, a name change, a flood, a construction site in our back yard – have given us strength and courage to ask for help.
If I’m excited and certain about one thing, it is this - the New Year will bring about more change for Bridges. I hope we continue to celebrate the great things we do in this community, learn from the past, and work hard to make a difference every day.
Happy New Year! Come see us soon.
Wii, Weight loss, Win
Donicé Kaufman, Bridges’s Director of the Living Well Program, is this week’s guest blogger.
The other day I was in my office trying to figure out a better name for my wellness class. When I called it “Weight Loss Challenge,” about 10 people signed up for the twelve-week class. They learned a lot about nutrition, fitness, and the importance of rest, spiritual health, and fiscal health. At the end of 12 weeks some of the participants lost weight and others lowered their blood pressure or waist size. But all had learned the importance of balance and long term health——not just “quick” weight loss.
It occurred to me that the name “Weight Loss Challenge” was misleading and that people would take the class with hopes of quick weight loss. The next class series I changed the name to “Live Well Forever” and reduced the number of classes to 10 weeks. Again, about 10 people signed up for the classes and basically learned the same thing as the first group.
The next “Live Well Forever” series only had two people registered, Kimwanis and Jimmy Jordan. I decided to teach them one-on-one in my office. Of all the classes I’ve taught before, it was this tiny class of 2 in which I am most proud. Again, I focused a lot on balance and how health is wrapped up in nutrition, fitness, rest, spiritual and fiscal fitness. As a result of that 10-week series of classes, Kimwanis and Jimmy stop in my office often to discuss budgeting and recipes or just to weigh-in.
For anyone who knows Kim, getting her to do any exercise would take a miracle! Well, we got a miracle; because Kim started increasing her exercise and changing her diet gradually. Not only did she lose 50 lbs., she increased her energy level and decreased her back and joint pain. Kimwanis even won a Wii when she competed in the Wii Challenge January thru March of 2010.
What does Kimwanis have to do with the name of my wellness series? I realize that whatever I call my class truly doesn’t matter in the long run. What matters is that those who take the class win a lifetime of health.
- Donicé