DdEF's Campaigns
"When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him." Bayard Rustin (Black American civil rights Activist, 1910–1987)
This page is about Ddeaf Equality Forward's (DdEF's) current campaigns. You can find details of our other projects on the projects page.
DdEF isn't a political organisation and we aren't affiliated to any political party. We believe in equality for all Ddeaf people though. We work with a number of organisations, including other Ddeaf people's groups, other disability groups, statutory agencies, local authorities, health services, MPs and local councillors, service providers and educators, to campaign for equality for Ddeaf people.
This page gives details of some of the campaigns we are involved in at the moment.
Our Campaigns
Sign Your Name
As part of Deaf Awareness Week 2005, held in May, we launched our ‘Sign Your Name’ campaign. 1 in 7 people in the UK have a hearing loss, and 70,000 communicate by BSL (British Sign Language). DdEF is trying to raise awareness of BSL and encourage people to learn it. You can learn BSL at many colleges around the country. Take the first step and learn to Sign Your Name using the finger spelling alphabet. DdEF's ‘Sign Your Name’ bookmarks feature the manual finger spelling alphabet on one side, and DdEF's contact details on the other side. DdEF members can get a bookmark at members meetings.
If you are not a DdEF member and you would like a bookmark, please send a medium SAE to us at DdEF, c/o Chesterfield Law Centre, 44 Park Road, Chesterfield, S40 1XZ, marking your envelope ‘bookmark’.
Ddeaf People and Mental Health
- 40% of Ddeaf people as opposed to 25% of hearing people have a mental health problem at some point in their life
- Ddeaf people are frequently mis–diagnosed, often labeled as having learning difficulties. Many are assessed by people with whom they are unable to communicate
- There are virtually no specialist educational services for children who are both profoundly deaf and extremely disturbed. Of 20,000 deaf children in the UK, around 8,000 will develop some kind of mental health problem, of which 10% will need some kind of residential treatment.
Source: SIGN (www.signcharity.org.uk)
In 2004 the Government announced that a fund would be made available to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for mental health services for Ddeaf people. DdEF, working in partnership with SIGN, the National Charity for Deafness and Mental Health, has been active in the region, lobbying PCTs to ensure that funds are made available specifically for Ddeaf people's mental health needs.
We have written to all of the PCTs covering Derbyshire asking them if funding will be ring–fenced for the mental health needs of Ddeaf people
