ABOUT SONUS

Background Information

Manchester Deaf Centre is one of the oldest charities in Manchester.  We first opened our doors in 1846 and we have been serving the Deaf community in Greater Manchester ever since.

The Manchester Deaf Centre exists to provide specialist support and services to the Deaf community living throughout Greater Manchester. We build on the assets in our community by promoting the independence of individuals and service user groups. Our services encourage peer interaction and integration thereby reducing isolation and exclusion from the wider community.

MDC provides Employment, Youth, Advice, Advocacy and YouChoose service. MDC also provides communication support service, Deaf Awareness training, and BSL teaching. MDC covers Greater Manchester in partnership with other Deaf centers.

Why do you want to be involved in the YOUchoose consortium ?

The people we work with have a range of auditory and sensory impairments and face an infinitely complex set of challenges every day of their lives, things that the hearing community take for granted.  These range from issues such as a lack of identity, low self-esteem, and barriers to education and employment, to everyday communication such as booking a GP appointment and being able to actually understand what their doctor is telling them!  The Deaf community really is a ‘silent’ community, these issues often go unaddressed and result in Deaf people becoming isolated and marginalized from mainstream society.

What is your vision for the future of YOUchoose?

MDC’s vision for the future of YOUchoose is for all partners to work together to provide a high-quality service that addresses the needs of the Deaf community.

Our Vision

Facilitating access for deaf and hard of hearing people to take their place as respected and confident members of the wider community, able to pursue opportunities, make informed choices and achieve their potential.

Our Mission

[sonus] exists to provide opportunities for Deaf, Deafblind, deafened, and hard of hearing people to have equal access to all sectors of the local communities.  [sonus] also ensures that its services are developed in response to the views, ideas and opinions of our customers.

Staffing and Structure

[sonus] has a committed team of paid and unpaid deaf and hearing staff who bring their range of knowledge, skills and experience to enrich the services offered.

GDA strives to a vision of a society that actively supports ways to break down communication barriers for deaf and hard of hearing people.  Our mission is to promote a sense of equality in a hearing world which often lacks understanding and empathy for hearing impairment. We do this by providing a range of services and social activities which provide choice and control, greater independence and ultimately better physical and mental wellbeing.

GDA is an award-winning user-led organization, and our beneficiaries include adults and children who have been born deaf and whose preferred method of communication is sign language, and also those with an acquired hearing loss. either through illness or aging, whom rely on speech but can no longer hear. Our services include communications support (BSL interpreters), deaf employment support, listening aid equipment, hearing aid clinics, deaf children’s and deaf youth clubs, advocacy, deaf awareness training and lip reading classes.

Background information about your organisation – how long has it been established, what services you offer, what’s your catchment area?

Registered Charity, est. 1971.

deafPLUS, formerly Breakthrough Trust (Deaf-Hearing Integration), was established in 1971 as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee to encourage integration between deaf and hearing people in all areas of life. Our objectives are as follows:

Promoting Independence – Helping deaf and visually impaired people to choose equipment that will help them in their daily routines, and also help keep them safe.  Providing information, advocacy and advice that facilitates their full participation in society.

Developing Potential – Supporting clients into employment / their own businesses, and helping those already in employment to further develop their careers and prospects. Providing skills training and volunteering opportunities.

Promoting Wellbeing – Providing community, social and cultural opportunities to overcome isolation. Providing health workshops and materials.

Promoting Social Change and Understanding – Working to improve awareness of deaf and visually impaired people’s needs.  Working with key decision makers to ensure that barriers to the achievement of social and economic potential are dismantled.

Delivered from 8 offices across the UK, we provide the following services:

• Information and Advice
• Advocacy
• Employment
• Reablement
• Lipreading classes
• Health & Wellbeing

A BSL Advice Helpline was recently launched to support deaf people in England with the following advice:

• Welfare benefits including PIP
• Housing
• Money and debt advice
• Immigration
• Employment
• Education
• Advice on access to services

In addition, deafPLUS has launched a new community service:

Personal Assistant (PA) support – We are part of the YOUchooseconsortium. We are recruiting a dedicated specialist team of PA’s who enjoy supporting clients in various ways to help a client become more independent with communication, living in the community and personal matters.
 
Why you want to be involved in the YOUchoose consortium

With our experience of providing Information & Advice and Employment Services to the community spanning 45 years, we are excited to launch the next chapter of our work to encourage independence. As a deaf-led organisation, our work revolves around the service users and having identified a gap in their provision, YOUchoose is the next provision in bridging the gap.
 
Having delivered services as part of mainstream consortiums, deafPLUS are excited about delivering YOUchoose as part of a deaf consortium. This exciting way forward will enable a group of deaf organisations to pool expertise and pave the way for future opportunities.
 
What’s your vision for the future of YOUchoose?
To launch YOUchoose across the Country reaching out to those who need this vital service.
 
To branch out to other community services as part of a consortium where there is demonstratable need.
 

DEAF PLUS WEBSITE ADDRESS

Web:                                       www.deafplus.org

Email:                                     info@deafplus.org

Telephone/ Text:                   020 7790 6147

Facebook:                              deafPLUS70

Twitter:                                  @deafPLUS_UK

Background information about your organisation – how long has it been established, what services you offer, what’s your catchment area?

Community Interest Company, est. 2011.

DeafCOG, Deaf Cultural Outreach Group, is a community service provider and an umbrella organisation that hosts activities and projects that are of value to the Deaf community. The aim is to promote the Deaf identity positively; to create opportunities; to strengthen the community; and to provide community-led services in British Sign Language and Deaf culture. As a social enterprise covering the areas of both Brighton and Hove city and Sussex county, profits are reinvested to further the aims of DeafCOG and the Deaf community. DeafCOG is a Disabled People’s User Led Organisation (DPULO) and has a core belief that ‘deaf people can’ provide services and lead projects themselves, as well as in partnership with other organisations and social enterprises.

DeafCOG’s communityservice:

Personal Assistant (PA) support – We are part of the YOUchooseconsortium. We have a dedicated specialist team of PA’s who enjoy supporting clients in various ways to help a client become more independent with communication, living in the community and personal matters.

DeafCOG projects include:

• Deaf Engagement. 
• Our Space – a space for social learning and community engagement.
• Deaf Celebrations. 
• Deaf Diaspora! – an annual celebratory festival bringing the Deaf community, artists and traders together in the spirit of furthering our human and language rights.

• Deaf Advancement – Working with people to develop their business ideas through networks, and access to DeafCOG’s resources.

• Deaf Arts – Creating spaces for artists and artistic development.

• Deaf Support. 

Community Connect – Combating Loneliness in Older Deaf People Project – Enabling older people to learn/ share strategies and build stronger networks to overcome loneliness.

• Deaf Research and Development.

Mapping Deaf Spaces – researching the local Deaf community

Why you want to be involved in the YOUchoose consortium

We are stronger together, each consortium member is deaf-led in their approach and therefore are in the best position to share resources and expertise for the advancement of deaf-led services.

This makes us more cost effective in working with Commissionersas we can provide better outcomes.

We believe the consortium will create greater funding opportunities, ensuring a more positive impact within the deaf community. We can achieve this by sharing best practice and learning from and supporting each other.

What’s your vision for the future of YOUchoose?

Community resilience to current and future challenges; we will co-work with both our consortium members and our shared community to ensure the deaf community has a healthy position to securely navigate our increasingly turbulent society.

Together we can create an evidence base on the needs of deaf people with clearly demonstrated solutions at a high level.

Your website address

DeafCOG Web:                      www.deafcog.co.uk

Email:                                       info@deafcog.co.uk

Telephone/ Text:                  07541 492381

Facebook:                              Deaf Cultural Outreach Group (DeafCOG)

Twitter:                                    @deafcog