10 Minutes 10 Seconds, 21.7mb
Hands That Talk was set up in early 2000 as a direct response to the enormous gap in provision for those people in our community who are either deaf or have some form of hearing impairment. It is a Registered Charity, peopled by volunteers from all sections of the community and, since its establishment, and has grown to be the largest Deaf
Community in Northern Ireland and the second largest in all Ireland.
The project began as a small local initiative in Dungiven Community Resource Centre but such was the demands on its resources that it had soon to relocate to larger premises. A further move to a much larger purpose-built centre on a prime site generously provided by Limavady Borough Council is planned. This offer of a site by the Council is recognition of the ever-increasing demand for the service provided by the project, the very considerable achievements it has made over the last three years and the dedication of the project members.
Dungiven is a small town set in beautiful agricultural country in the Roe Valley on the edge of the spectacular Glenshane Pass. The immediate area suffers from acute deprivation with many families dependent on welfare benefits. Unemployment is high and like any other town in today’s society there are problems of alcohol and perhaps less so drug abuse. The transport network is poor, thus increasing the isolation experienced by deaf people in the area.
Hands That Talk is the only Deaf Community organization of its kind in Northern Ireland and serves the whole North West region. It adopts a holistic approach to the problems experienced by Deaf people in the area – lack of employment opportunities, marginalization, poor self-esteem and social exclusion – by offering a wide range of educational courses, training, recreational and social activities, seminars and an advisory service. A major factor in the success of the project is the strong representation of the Deaf Community on the Management Committee and its sub-committees (8 out of 13 members are deaf). This empowers the Deaf Community to have a significant input into the planning and structuring of our programmes.
Hands That Talk aims:
“To improve the quality of life for Deaf People, to promote social inclusion and equal opportunities, to help provide access to education, services and employment and to improve communication between Deaf and hearing people and help eliminate discrimination against Deaf people.”
To achieve these aims, we work in partnership with:
- North West Institute of Further and Higher Education (NWIFHE)
- Royal National Institute for Deaf (RNID)
- British Deaf Association (BDA)
- National Association of Deaf (NAD)
- Council for the Advancement of Communication for Deaf People
- Dungiven Community Resource Centre (DCRC)
