Coronavirus: The Deaf charities offering support in uncertain times

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, The Limping Chicken has been hearing from different members of the Deaf community about how the outbreak has affected them.

This week, we hear from some of the UK’s deaf charities and how they are adapting their services to continue to support the Deaf community.

“Coronavirus will have a significant impact on how deaf children are supported in the coming months,” Ian Noon, Chief Policy Advisor at the National Deaf Children’s Society, tells The Limping Chicken.

“We’re calling on the UK Government to issue guidance on how they expect deaf and other disabled children to be supported in the coming months, whether they’re at home or continuing to attend school.

“Whilst these are unprecedented times, it’s important that the needs of deaf children are not overlooked. With good preparation, understanding and expert advice, they can all return to school fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

“Like many charities, our services have also been impacted. However, while many of our face-to-face services and events have been put on hold, our helpline is still running as normal, our support and advice is still open to everyone who needs it, and we’re looking at how we can deliver our services in new ways,” he explains.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, the charity SignHealth continues to provide deaf mental health support to members of the community, in addition to helping victims of domestic abuse – a service which has also moved wholly online during the outbreak.

“We have a lot of remote contact with women, but now, all of our content is remote,” says Chief Executive James Watson-O’Neill. “That’s really worrying in terms of women being forced to stay at home, forced to stay with the perpetrators.

“So, it’s a little bit early to tell but we’re concerned about the issue that the coronavirus may be increasing that.”

James continues: “I think the biggest focus for us is part of what we do in our social care services.

“We’re asking our staff – predominantly deaf people – to do what key workers have to do, which is to go to work, and that’s very challenging, I think.

“I’ve been very impressed by the work of our staff and their willingness to turn up and do the job. It’s really, really impressive.”

As well as providing information for young people and those experiencing mental health issues, deaf charities are also supporting older deaf people, with Action on Hearing Loss telling The Limping Chicken that they are “really concerned about the impact coronavirus will have on them and their health”.

“Now, more than ever, our focus is on those that we support and making sure that they can still access services and get the help they need,” a charity spokesperson says. “With face to face services no longer an option, our Helpline (Infoline) is an even more vital service which is why we have deployed extra staff to take on a larger volume of calls.”

Another advice service also available to deaf people is deafPLUS’s national advice line, which remains open online.

In a statement, the charity’s CEO Gary Williams says, “Our advisers continue to be available to support clients in need of information and advice.

“You can find out how to contact our advisers by visiting “Our Locations” on our website.  If you do not live in any of the locations where deafPLUS has a physical presence, you can book an appointment on the National Advice Line.

“We are doing our very best to continue helping you at this difficult time.”

Alongside helping service users, some charities are also providing British Sign Language (BSL) versions of the Government’s briefings on coronavirus, with ministers yet to provide a BSL interpreter direct from Number 10. These include the British Deaf Association, SignHealth and the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD).

RAD tell The Limping Chicken that their staff and volunteers “are doing a fantastic job at ensuring that we continue to do all we can”, with their Independent Living Service “providing invaluable care and support in the community”, freelance Communication Professionals supporting critical appointments and their Advice service providing “invaluable information and guidance”.

“RAD is a Deaf Community organisation; and, as such, we are committed to ensuring that Deaf people have access,” their statement continues. “We have been bitterly disappointed with the lack of real and equitable access to the daily briefings from the Prime Minister and are supporting all efforts to ensure that Boris Johnson follows the example of other world leaders and is accompanied by a BSL interpreter.

“Our team is working during the evenings and weekends to produce daily summaries of government briefings and we will continue to do so until further notice.”

At the end of March, the British Deaf Association emailed the Prime Minister calling for sign language interpreters to be shown on BBC One in addition to the BBC News Channels, with the feed being shared with other broadcasters.

The email also goes on to add that the charity has “consistently advocated the government’s position about staying at home, washing one’s hands, and, keeping one’s distance”.

“Having an interpreter in situ with officials within No. 10 or other government office contradicts this information, and, potentially puts them and others around them at risk,” they say.

On Sunday a letter from the Government was shared on social media, with a Downing Street spokesperson responding to the lack of an in-person interpreter at the briefings.

“The Government is committed to ensuring deaf people can fully participate and play a full role in society. We support initiatives aimed at improving understanding of the needs of deaf people and how the barriers they face can be removed, as well as giving deaf people more say in how they access services.

“As you are aware, we worked with the BBC to introduce a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter on Monday 16 March to accompany the Prime Minister’s daily coronavirus press conference. The BSL interpreter is available on the BBC News Channel and BBC iPlayer.

“We will continue to work with broadcasters to ensure there is a BSL interpreter in our daily updates on coronavirus and are prioritising the exploration of additional methods to ensure that all disabled people have access to pertinent communication in accessible formats,” the letter reads.

A day later, an online fundraiser has launched on the website CrowdJustice for a legal challenge against the Government for not providing an in-person interpreter for its daily coronavirus briefings.

A statement on the webpage says: “After weeks of campaigning on this without any real response from the Government we have engaged the legal team, Fry Law, who are supporting ‘AK’ [an 85-year-old deaf person] by launching a Judicial Review application for breach of the Equality Act, Human Right Act and the UNCRPD, in the hope that the Court will order the government to provide an Interpreter.

At the time of writing, over £1,900 has been pledged, with the campaign having an initial target of £10,000.

If you need any advice and support during the coronavirus outbreak, the charities mentioned above have the following services available:

• The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS): Information is available on the charity’s website and their Helpline service can be contacted on 0808 800 8880 or via InterpreterNow.
• SignHealth: Contact information and links to the charity’s services – including on mental health and domestic violence – are available on their website. If you are in need of mental health support, the Crisis Text Service can be reached by texting DEAF to 85258.
• Action on Hearing Loss: The Infoline service can be contacted by emailing information@hearingloss.org.uk, messaging the charity on Facebook or Twitter, calling the freephone number on 0808 808 0123, or contacting the textphone number 0808 808 9000. A live chat facility is also available and the charity’s Tinnitus Helpline can be reached on 0808 808 6666.
• The Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD): More information can be found on their website, or by emailing advice@royaldeaf.org.uk.
• British Deaf Association (BDA): Information in BSL about the coronavirus can be found on their dedicated webpage. Contact information for the charity is also available online.
• deafPLUS: The charity’s BSL advice line remains open and contact information for their individual advice centres is available online. deafPLUS’ information and advice hub can be accessed at deafplus.info.

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By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Read the first three reports in this series, on how the pandemic affects British Sign Language interpreters, deaf university students and deaf mental health online now.