Happy Deaf Awareness Week from Caritas Diocese of Salford!

Over 5% of the world’s population experience communication barriers due to differences in hearing. By 2050, the WHO expect this to be 2.5 billion people.

Here in the UK, around 12 million people face barriers in day-to-day communication due to a lack of deaf awareness and access.  Caritas staff and volunteers are committed to improving our knowledge and skills to truly become Deaf Aware, improve communication and reduce these barriers.

In 2012, the work of St Joseph’s Mission to Deaf People (SJMDP) was integrated into the Caritas Diocese of Salford family of projects supporting people in our community.  Since the pandemic restrictions have reduced, Peter McDonough, Caritas Community Officer – who is Deaf and uses British Sign Language as his primary language – has been showing our team how to be d/Deaf aware.  They have also been learning some basic British Sign Language (BSL) with him.  BSL is the preferred language of 87,000 Deaf UK residents and it is estimated that more than 150,000 individuals use BSL in their daily lives.  Professional use of BSL, such as interpreters, translators and communication support workers, would raise the number even higher.

This year’s Deaf Awareness Week theme is Deaf Inclusion and so the efforts of Caritas staff, volunteers and people using different services is felt even more strongly.  There is more to learn about the culture, experiences and language used in the d/Deaf community and Caritas is proud and keen to continue this journey.  Please see our video below.

Thank you to all those from across Caritas Salford who managed to overcome their nerves and were brave enough to sign something on camera for Deaf Awareness Week 2022!