Helen Phillips: How Deaf Connect helps deaf people in West Yorkshire (BSL)

If you live in the West Yorkshire region, text 07984396001 to contact Deaf Connect, which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 7pm-11pm.

I would like to introduce a unique service called ‘Deaf Connect’, which is based at Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service (LSLCS).

Deaf Connect was established to serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, as they face many barriers to mainstream services and find them difficult to access.

Deaf Connect provides people with a place they can seek solace and talk with someone who can communicate and understand them; especially when they are overwhelmed with emotions and have no one to turn to.

Deaf Connect has deaf workers who offer support remotely via video calls; we are here to listen.

As a deaf led group of people who use British Sign Language (BSL) we can communicate directly with our visitors using either BSL, Signed Supported English or speech and therefore provide that unequivocal connection with them.

The deaf connect team has survivors who have been through difficult times themselves, they are compassionate and able to empathise with visitors as they have the same experiences as them.

The service is especially unique due to the innate knowledge and understanding we have regarding deaf culture, barriers faced by deaf people, including language barriers, as well as the frustrations and exasperations they experience. This means we can fully empathise with others, making us special and unique.

If you are unsure whether Deaf Connect is for you and if you should get in touch, give it a try! If you want someone to talk to, contact us and come along. You may want to offload, get things off your chest, you maybe stressed, have too much on your mind that prevents you from thinking clearly.

We know that stress and things on your mind maybe overwhelming and too much! The overwhelm and worries could be about relationships; you may have lost someone recently, this experience of bereavement can lead to grief, you may have separated from someone causing you to feel lost and alone.

You don’t need to be on your own, deaf connect is here to support you. You can contact us.

Visitors who have used our services have given us feedback about their experiences with deaf connect. They have said that Deaf Connect has enabled them to finally find the help that they needed, they have felt safe, they have actually felt listened to, their worries have reduced, they have been able to sleep better and have felt a great sense of relief. They have told us that Deaf Connect has not given up on them, they have felt welcomed and able to engage with us. This is great feedback to receive.

The service is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 7pm and 11pm. It is available by texting 07984396001 at 6.30pm, we will then allocate each person a specific time slot whereby you have an hour to talk to someone from our team and off load. You don’t have to talk for the full hour, use the time that you need, we can just talk for 15 mins – it is up to you!

If you live in the West Yorkshire region, text 07984396001 to contact Deaf Connect, which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 7pm-11pm.