£48,000 grant for deaf charity

A CHARITY group supporting deaf people in Warrington has been awarded £48,430 by the Department of Health for their Health Awareness and Deafness project (HAND)
The money comes from the department’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) and will go to the Deafness Support Network (DSN) to be used to assist deaf people in Cheshire access health information through the use of volunteers.
DSN has support centres in Warrington, Chester, Northwich and Macclesfield.
They provide a range of services for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people and the funds will enable DSN to increase its capacity in providing information for the deaf through volunteers.
DSN will be offering its expertise of deafness in collaboration with health partners and volunteer health care professionals to deliver workshops to deaf people and their carers, focusing on high risk health conditions such as strokes, heart attacks, cancer and mental health conditions.
Operations executive at DSN, Gill Reeder, said: “We’re so grateful for the generous amount we have received from the HSCVF. The money will fund our HAND project for two and a half years which will enable us to provide workshops and offer deaf people a volunteer ‘buddy’ who will accompany them on visits to GP surgeries and access Health Care services such as weight loss management and blood pressure checks.
“The project also offers a unique opportunity for health care professionals to volunteer and gain deaf awareness skills, helping them understand the barriers which prevent deaf people from accessing health services and taking this understanding back into their workplace.”