MOmentum for Change Season 4, Episode 7: Bridging the Gap with DeafLEAD

DeafLEAD is available to provide empowering, trauma-informed advocacy services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence who are Deaf. They are also available to provide support and information to advocacy organizations who serve these individuals. In this episode of MOmentum for Change, DeafLEAD Advocates, Tozzie Smith and Rachel Ebner, talk further about DeafLEAD, their empowerment-based approach, and a new ASL course they have developed to bridge the gap between service providers and survivors who are Deaf. 

Episode notes: 

Find more information about DeafLEAD at https://deaflead.org/. 

Some episodes of MOmentum for Change have conversations that include content and descriptions of domestic and sexual violence, which may be alarming or activating for some listeners. Please take care and visit the MOCADSV Directory to connect with supportive services.

The opinions in this podcast are based on the knowledge or experiences of the author and guests, and should not be used in place of actual legal or financial advice. You should seek appropriate counsel regarding the implementation of the ideas expressed.

A transcript of this episode can be found at the following link

MOmentum for Change Season 4 Episode 7 Transcript

Transcript

Speaker: 0:44

Welcome to episode six of season four of Momentum for Change. This is your host, Nora Mosby. Survivors of domestic and sexual violence who are deaf may face additional barriers and hardships when they seek advocacy services. Luckily in Missouri, DeafLEAD is available throughout the state to bridge this gap and ensure that survivors who are deaf are able to access meaningful and empowering advocacy services. In our episode today, we are joined by advocates from DeafLEAD, Rachel Ebner and Tozzie Smith. And they're here to talk about advocacy and an exciting new language access program that they are rolling out. We're also joined by three interpreters from DeafLEAD. If you are tuning into the audio version of the podcast, Sarie will be interpreting for Rachel. AJ will be interpreting for Tozzie, and Audrey will be interpreting for me. You will hear these interpreters' voices throughout the episode. And if you are tuning in to the video on YouTube, you can see the interpreters, Tozzie, and Rachel using ASL. So as we're getting started, Rachel and Tozzie, can you provide a visual description of yourself for accessibility purposes? Tozzie, would you like to begin? Absolutely. So I am a white Caucasian male with a dark gray polo shirt that has the Def Leed logo across the front of it. And the top left of my shirt, I do have a buzz cut and I am wearing glasses. My background is a green screen. Thank you, Tozzie. Rachel, would you like to go next? Yes, hi. I have a white wall behind me and a black t-shirt with a DeafLEAD logo on the top left and multi colors. em I'm wearing gold jewelry and necklace, earring, ring and bracelet, blonde hair. And I have a white background on my screen. I'm wearing a white shirt with lace shoulders. have brown hair and it's kind of long at the moment. Thank you for including that visual description, Tozzie and Rachel. Let's turn it over to our conversation now. I'd like to hear about what you all do at DeafLEAD Tozzie, would you like to start? Sure. So we here at DeafLEAD have quite a few resources for support, which includes 24-7 crisis intervention services. We have the 988 hotline as well as the Deaf Crisis Line. In total, we have four lines. We have the 988 chat and text line, as well as the video phone line. We also offer advocacy in legal, medical, communication in general, and personal advocacy. That also includes emotional advocacy as well. And we also have case management services that we provide. We partner with several shelters and victim services. those providers across the state, we partner with them. And we also provide free mental health services with free counseling services. In addition to that, we also have trauma informed support as well. That's wonderful. And we also have free crisis trauma-informed interpreting services that we offer through DeafLEAD as well. All right. And I got more. We've got... So sorry. We also provide substance use prevention for the youth as a program we've just launched, as well as TCTSY, or Trauma Center Trauma-Informed Yoga. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga. Apologies, that was an interpreter error. But yeah, we have many collaborations across the state of Missouri for service providers. So yeah, that's what we at DeafLEAD do. That's great. And how long has DeafLEAD been around providing these services? So this month actually will be our 30th year operating. Congratulations, 30 years with that whole bouquet of services. It's really amazing that you've been able to grow and grow and provide multiple levels of services. I'd like to hear both from you, Tozzie, and you, Rachel, about what your role is within the organization. What is your specific responsibilities and job? Rachel, do you want to start that off? Yeah. Or I could start. My role at DeafLEAD is a victim advocate, which means I work closely with deaf survivors, hard of hearing, blind survivors, whatever identity they might hold, individuals with a hearing loss. And it's important that I empower them to make full decision autonomy in the services that they're receiving. Also, as Tozzie mentioned, we advocate for communication access. I might work with a survivor to review documentation to make sure that they really fully understand and they have full transparency access to that communication. So they have that autonomy to make choices, not myself as their advocate, but I want the survivor to feel fully empowered. Ugh, that word empowerment is something that's near and dear to my heart and I know many of our listeners as well. Kazi, what's your role at DeafLEAD? I also work alongside Rachel. I am a victim advocate as well. We provide the full services for victims of crimes, just like she mentioned. Okay, great. As you're talking about your jobs, is there something that comes to mind that you find especially fulfilling or something you really love about your job? man. Yeah. So one's already come to mind. It's the ability to see that communication facilitation and full transparency. That's something that I love about my job is being able to see that when a victim is being heard and seen as well as being understood. That's just something that's really inspiring to me. That just shows that these people are not alone in what they're going through. beautifully said, Rachel, what comes to mind when you think about what you love about your job? Yeah, something I love about the work that I do is building trusting relationships and providing support, collaborating and working together, supporting one another, and also having that cultural background, that intuitive understanding using my personal experience, being able to work with a survivor who might have had similar experiences, being able to support them. That's what I love. Thank you. That's so inspiring to hear you all talk about. Even though you are natural advocates, have so much passion and competency for the work, I know you weren't born advocates. And I would love to hear a little bit about your background and how you came to work at DeafLEAD. Tozzie, would you like to start? Sure. So what's been inspiring to me to come into this role is that I'm a survivor myself and that's really led me to wanting to help others on that path just so that people don't feel hindered by those barriers. I used to work with the National Domestic Violence Hotline as a digital advocate. And with those, I mean, the things I did there, I learned so much and that's really led me to where I am right now. Can you tell our listeners about digital advocacy? Absolutely. So the National Domestic Violence Hotline is a 24-7 line for those who are experiencing domestic violence, specifically intimate partner violence, IPV. And the hotline, what I did there was I used, you know, I was on a screen and we'd either chat or text in order to interact with folks. And we also offered the Love is Respect for those who are younger, experiencing dating violence as well. Well, I think many of our listeners are familiar with the services of the hotline and it's so interesting to know that you bring that experience to your advocacy here in Missouri. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and thank you for asking for elaboration on that. And Rachel, can you tell us about your background before you came to DeafLEAD? Or and since I was a little girl, I had always wanted to become a teacher and I thought I wanted to give back to my community. But the older I got, I realized that with the trauma I had personally experienced, I thought that the social work field was of interest. And the more I learned about social work, it really was my calling. I realized that it was my passion. so working with survivors, it's not just about empowering them, but letting them know that they're not alone. And so when you're working with them, letting them know I'm there, I've been through that as well to navigate it. And so that was the reason I got into this field. think when you have experienced trauma yourself, when you are a survivor, it does convey a level of connection and understanding when you're providing support to other people who are going through similar hardships. I think it's very natural that survivors want to be represented and see themselves in the services that they are being provided. And so it's very rewarding for survivors and it can also be very rewarding for advocates and their own healing and sense of making meaning out of the world. Another level of connection and understanding is that you are also deaf and you're providing services to survivors who are deaf. And so I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. What you've heard from the survivors that you're providing services to, have they appreciated the fact that they're able to speak ASL, use ASL with their advocates? um What kind of feedback do you hear from survivors about having an advocate who's deaf? Rachel, did you want to take that? Sure, I could add to that question. There are many deaf survivors who, when they enter and they get the support, when they ask for support, when they see an advocate who's deaf, they really feel seen, they feel understood. Just having a deaf advocate there who has that cultural knowledge already, who has direct communication access, and not all deaf individuals or Deaf advocates use American Sign Language, so I do want to emphasize that. But being able to accommodate a victim's communication needs or methods, they just feel they're not alone, that they can actually get services and help without the extra burden of communication access. And so being there to help them really helps remove barriers, helps the communication go much more effectively for the survivor. So when you say that not all survivors you work with use ASL, can you tell us more about that? Sure, that is a great question. uh Everyone has their own preferred way to communicate. Some use American Sign Language. Some people might use something called cued speech. It's another communication. Some people might sign and speak at the same time, utilizing both languages at the same time. Or if it's a person who's deaf and blind, they might use a language called pro tactile sign language. And really it depends on every survivor and individual. They might have different communication methods that they prefer. So we ask them with that and we go with that and try to meet them. Interesting. Well, we are going to talk at length about language access on our episode together today. But before we get to the language access issues, I want to talk about some of that cultural knowledge that you just mentioned, Rachel. What are some of the dynamics within the uh deaf community and how does that cultural knowledge inform your advocacy services? That's a big one to unpack, isn't it? Yeah, a little bit. Could you speak to some of the dynamics of providing services to survivors who are deaf? Yeah. So I guess I want to throw out there too, we at DeafLEAD, we're the only deaf organization in the state of Missouri that really does what we do here to benefit deaf and hard of hearing survivors. And for them to be acknowledged and realized that there are deaf advocates out there, like myself and Rachel, that really shows how much survivors will feel relief and become aware of the fact that they have someone with the cultural knowledge of what they need, this similar identity, similar struggles, frustrations we've experienced, similar things. So the deaf survivor doesn't have that emotional load or liability having to explain why they're going through the experience they're going through. That's just one less thing because we as deaf folks understand where they're coming from. We understand their struggles, the dynamics of life. So we don't... need to have things re-explained again. So we think that that really helps reduce the trauma that they go through. That's just one thing we've seen commonly in the state and the people that we work with, the survivors that we work Yeah, that certainly makes sense. Are there any other issues that come up in particular related to supporting survivors who are deaf? Is there experiences of isolation or just is there an awareness of resources that are available? Any issues around just being able to access services? I'm so glad that you mentioned isolation specifically. That's one of the biggest things that we see commonly amongst deaf survivors, for sure. And not only that, it's language deprivation as well that they experience. That's something that has been really impactful across ah the whole person's experience, you know, as they're raised and experience life. So those two things really have an impact on how the survivor is able to find help at the start whenever they're language deprived and isolated. They really don't have an awareness of what's around them. So that's an inherent barrier to getting the help that they need. And when you say um language deprivation, what are you referring to exactly? What does that mean? Yeah, sure. So language deprivation is when a deaf individual is born and they are identified through a hearing screening test that their hearing has failed quote unquote. From the deaf perspective, know, that child is deaf. Great. So where it comes into play is the education of that child. So the resources that are offered to the family of the deaf child, oftentimes they don't include American Sign Language Education resources for that. They oftentimes will offer options that can help remedy the hearing loss, if you will, devices and things like that. So that's where the lack of resources to teaching communication and access to communication, they're lacking that. And that's where language deprivation really starts. So their entire life being raised, they have different experiences that they're having to go through, but they don't have the language to really understand what they're experiencing and how to express what they're experiencing. I see. And so that lack of ability to communicate can really increase isolation that survivors might be experiencing and make it even harder to access services. That's it. Yeah, absolutely. As much as we would love for every domestic and sexual violence advocacy organization throughout the state of Missouri to have staff that know ASL, that know some of these communication techniques, it's just not possible. And many advocacy organizations are using interpreters in order to bridge that gap to connect with survivors. And so do you have any thoughts or tips about working with interpreters to provide advocacy services that you'd like to share with our listeners. Yeah, Rachel, did you want to take that one or? No, OK. Yeah, excellent question. So that's where we at DeafLEAD really come into the picture. ah We're one of those resources for that. And we are very familiar ah with telehealth, tele-network interpreting, what's called video remote interpreting, or VRI for short. There are quite a few resources there. But then again, it's important to ask the person that you're working with what Do they prefer to use what's your preferred communication method? That way it puts the ball in their court. They're a little bit more comfortable in how they communicate with you. So I'd like to ask about starting the conversation, especially if you're starting the conversation without a tool or without a device, do you have any tips about how to ask what someone's preferences are before you have an interpreter? How do you logistically make that happen? Yeah, I'm glad you asked. So again, just start small, saying hello, how can I help? Whenever, if somebody writes or maybe they text on their phone or they use the notes app, whatever it may be, they show you whatever they're saying. So let's say if I was the person that you're talking to, I say, I need counseling. Then you're going to acknowledge that they're an ASL user. So you can write back to them. And what's important is just writing what communication do you want to use? What method you could use that word. How do you want us to help? That way you're empowering the person who comes in to say, maybe I want an ASL interpreter in person. Maybe I want them remote over a tablet, but that person will know what they need. So that's just a good way to kind of facilitate that and get that started, get the services that they need in order to help the person communicate with you. I can add to that if I may. Yes, please. Yeah, when you are using an ASL interpreter or without an interpreter, what's important is to make eye contact with the person that you're speaking to, to the deaf survivor, whether interpreter there is or not look at the deaf person looking away, feels like the conversation and the connection is disrupted eye contact is really important. And so looking at them, also making sure that you give enough time to clarify so that the deaf survivor, the individual and allow them to lead the interaction. If there is no interpreter there, no deaf advocate there, and it's just you and the deaf survivor, just go ahead and try to make conversation with them in any way that you can. then, and they'll, they can help guide that interaction as well if you're together. Like Tozzie mentioned, things like waving hello, having pen and paper ready, asking if they're okay writing back and forth for the meantime, and then asking them. And, em you know, go ahead and talk to them. Don't just leave them be until the interpreter arrives and then say hello to them. Go ahead and make an effort from the beginning so they feel like you are trying to interact with them. Those are really excellent tips. Thanks for sharing those ideas. So I know the deaf community in the state of Missouri is large. The state of Missouri is large and there are many people who are deaf in the state of Missouri. But I also can assume that maybe a lot of people who are deaf know each other. Maybe they went to similar schools em or know each other through other social networks. We also know that confidentiality is just paramount to survivor safety. So do you have any thoughts on ensuring survivor confidentiality within the deaf community where many people know each other? For sure. Yeah, that's a great question. So confidentiality is critical in the services that we provide and we value that confidentiality for our survivors. So we can't control how the community is. We understand that the community is small in the bigger picture and we're not able to, you know, discuss how we're wanting to do that. But what we want to make sure is that whenever we have somebody that comes to us who is a deaf survivor and having them meet with other victim service providers, telling their story, let them know that I have, excuse me, the interpreter error. Whenever you say, have a deaf survivor, that already is a breach of confidentiality. When you say deaf survivor, what you'll want to do is just say, have uh a deaf victim service provider. So you can give them that resource and allow. the person to have their own autonomy to make the decision. If they want to reach out to us or not, that's their decision. Let them make that decision. So that way it's a little bit more confidential. If you come to us and say, we have a deaf survivor in our shelter, that is a little bit more unsafe and that reflects that violation. ah So we just want to make sure we change the discourse to allow them to have that ah autonomy. Okay, again, drawing upon that empowerment model. So what you're saying is that when advocates refer a survivor who is deaf to deaf lead, you prefer the survivor just reach out directly and the advocate doesn't make that referral beforehand. Is that how you'd like the process to go? Yeah, yeah. And there's a variety of experiences for sure. It's really up to the survivor who they want to bring in. If they want to bring in an advocate, it's important to ask them. And of course, we're more than willing to help out. We've got victim advocates in support. It's just really important that the survivor is the one to make the decision to reach out instead of the support team reaching out to us saying, hey, we have a deaf survivor. Rachel, is there anything you would like to say about confidentiality? Let me think here. I think Tozzie pretty much said it all, I guess, just again. If there is a victim who might not feel comfortable reaching out to DeafLEAD directly, I mean, they might prefer that their service provider or staff member reach out to us. That would be okay. You can call to schedule a meeting with us so that we can all meet together. and co-advocacy, so then the victim feels like then they are empowered, even though you've supported them in reaching out to us, and then it feels like less responsibility. So that is a way to reach out. And having two or three deaf survivors in one location, just making sure you respect boundaries and confidentiality and not sharing information about one survivor to the other survivor, making sure that you're just same way that you work with survivors who are hearing, the deaf survivors would want the same treatment. Makes sense to me. So I also know that you all at DeafLEAD have a lot of experience providing services to survivors who are also immigrants who have come to the United States from another country. And so I was wondering if you could talk about some of the barriers that survivors who are deaf and immigrants experience and the services that you provide these survivors at DeafLEAD. Yeah, definitely. Oftentimes when it comes to immigration, communication barrier is a huge part of that. But again, that's not something that's going to stop us at all. We are very flexible. We're very knowledgeable of how to navigate that and finding more resources to provide access to communication for the survivor. And it's really important to keep in mind that, yeah, there are some challenges that are out there in regards to this. We are. very transparent in our process with what's going on these days as well. Just wanting to make sure that the survivor who is ah needing these resources gets what they need. Whether it be in healthcare, access to a green or a red card, getting access to a visa, as well as a safety plan. A safety plan is a big part of that and knowing their rights too. And we do have flexibility. We can add an ASL interpreter, a translator as well if that's needed. So not just an ASL interpreter if they need that language more translated using a certified deaf interpreter, an interpreter who is deaf themselves and has that lived experience. They can use more universal gestures and universal sign language as a way to very basically get across the communication so we're all understanding each other. And yeah. Most importantly, we really want to make sure that they know what their rights are. We try to drive that home whenever they are moving here. Interesting. So there's those levels of language access that when we're using American Sign Language, that is really a form of sign language from the United States. And if somebody is from another country, they wouldn't use ASL. So I really am interested in this use of universal gestures. Is that a formal? way of communicating or is it more just an inherent way of communicating as best you can or tell us more about that. Sure. Yeah. So there is a universal sign language, but it's not recognized as an official language. It was developed by the world federation for, excuse me, of the deaf. And that's where all of the world's deaf, like leaders, thought leaders, things like that will come together and come up with universal signs so that they can all understand each other. But like I said, it's not an official language. And like how you mentioned ASL is American sign language if you go to Britain they use BSL British sign language There is also LSM in Mexico Japanese sign language so yeah, there are different sign languages in different parts of the world different countries and Like we said, that's not something that's going to allow that's not gonna allow us to stop communicating it's just a barrier that we overcome and it is a fun experience as well to have that opportunity to have cultural exchanges between our languages. Yeah, so there's the language access issue. And I can imagine it can be really fun to get to learn signs from another country. But then in addition to the language access issue, there's also case management issues around getting a green or red card and also other immigration issues and know your rights. So when you say know your rights, can you tell me more about know your what kind of know your rights information. Rachel, did you want to add to that? Speaking of rights, actually, do you mind repeating the question or anything? Yeah, we were just talking about, because DeafLEAD has so much experience providing advocacy services to survivors who are deaf and who are also immigrants. So we're talking about some of the dynamics that exist there around language access, but also case management. And so was there anything you wanted to say about case management and advocacy services for survivors who are immigrants? Yeah, just that's such a great question. I would say deaf survivors who have moved here, I mean, they have a multitude of barriers, language access, they don't sometimes know their rights. They're fearful of their safety on a daily basis. And so it requires a lot of patience, a lot of time to work with them and explain things. It's really not a one time meeting. There's really no timeline. It might be days, months, years. It's just important that we take that time to meet with them, to really fully understand them and them to understand us. If they're not understanding terminology, it might take extra time to go back, review the terminology they didn't understand. So it just takes a bit more time. It's important to be patient and to really make sure that the person doesn't feel rushed or pressured to make a decision that um They know that we're flexible. We're willing to take the time that's needed to give them that peace and that calm to allow their brain to process. And we're accommodating them and their brain and their processing. We're not asking them to accommodate our timeline. If they're feeling rushed or stressed or it's too much and they need a break, more than happy to pause at any time to reschedule the meeting. We want them to feel restorative and restored to come back and be ready. Definitely. Also wanted to add onto that with the case management that you mentioned. MOCADSV is one of our partner groups and we do use your resources as well with information access to rights. And we do find translation from English to their language so that they're able to read in a way that's more comfortable to them. And we're able to talk about these things. We do also provide communication through pictures. ah just like symbols and photos, giving options for them to get a better understanding of what we're talking about and make sure that they have a way to feel secure in the spot that they're in right now. Well, thanks for the shout out, Tozzie. We certainly appreciate it. There are just so many dynamics of case management of your advocacy services to talk about. And one of the things I also wanted to talk about was the use of technology. So technology comes up a lot in our anti-violence movement because technology is used often increasingly nowadays to perpetrate abuse. But technology is also used to support survivors. And so I'd love to hear your thoughts about how technology is being used within your advocacy services to support survivors. Any promising practices you've seen? Yes, technology plays a huge role. is a big deal for individual deaf individuals who rely on it for communication access. We do use video phones or we call them VPs for short. Deaf individuals use the video phones to make outbound calls. And oftentimes an abuser will actually take a remote from a survivor or victim and hide it. So then they can't find it to be able to communicate with the outside world. um Deaf survivors, they'll sometimes utilize text and sometimes those messages aren't always secure. The abuser might be able to hack into their phone or see those messages. um And so with that considered, we have different strategies and we work with our victims or survivors who work together so that the abuser doesn't have access to where they are, our communications or the schedule. We might schedule a place or time. so that the abuser doesn't know and then they're safe. technology just plays such a huge role. People are using it as their primary way to communicate. And if an abuser takes away that ability, that increases that isolation even further. Yeah. Those are such good points. Thank you for bringing that up. So I get to see you all at regional meetings throughout the state of Missouri, which I just love having you all at the table. And I know that DeafLEAD is a statewide organization. You're not just providing services in Columbia, Missouri, but you're providing services throughout the entire state. And so I would love to hear some of your thoughts about being a statewide organization. Are you seeing a difference between urban and rural experiences of domestic and sexual violence? Or are there any differences that you're seeing just throughout the state as a statewide organization? Yes, we have noticed that in more rural areas of Missouri, specifically deaf survivors, live in isolation, less access to technology. So for example, maybe if they want to go to an appointment with a service provider, there's no interpreters in that area. Also, video relay interpreting might be available, but... Maybe they don't have the equipment there or their internet isn't strong enough so they can't see the interpreter and get full access to that communication. Also transportation is spared. Maybe survivors live in a really rural area and there is no public transportation, no bus system or even taxis. And so that could be really frustrating to access services. um We're in a more urban area. They have access to a larger pool of interpreters or video remote interpreter equipment or strong enough internet that those interpreters don't freeze. um And so those who live in rural areas outside of those services, it's much more challenging for them to get the services that they do need. Wow, thanks for speaking to those issues, Rachel. Tozzie, would you add anything to that? Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the urban and rural divide. Resources, really, I mean, it shows how much of a difference there are between the two of those and the resources that are available. But yeah, like Rachel mentioned, we do see that struggle for deaf survivors that are more in outstate areas. which speaks to how important it is that you are able to provide services throughout the state so that you can connect with those survivors in particular. So I mentioned that I get to see you all at regional meetings, but I actually get to see you at conferences, at trainings, uh community collaboration meetings. I get to see you all on a pretty regular basis. And I think it's because you all just really believe in community collaboration. Can you speak to why it's so important to you all to be involved in community events and why you take time to attend these things? Yes, working together is a huge part of what we're trying to do. And we know that deaf survivors oftentimes uh need help from a multitude of service providers. And so we want to make sure that we're doing that legwork to build those collaborations and partnerships to really bridge that gap so that different organizations are educated about our uh organization, we show up to meetings, we show up to conferences, we want to make sure people know that we're here and build those relationships. So if they ever need our support that we are to help here to help them and navigate working with a deaf survivor, and it's just really important to reach out to keep that deaf survivor from, you know, having additional trauma or labor from not getting the services that they need. So we are here to educate. organizations and providers, and we can provide content to help you understand this community. It really takes a team, all of us working together to make sure that survivors have full access and support to what they need, that support that we all are providing. Yeah, I agree. I think that we can go so much further and do so much more when we're working together in collaboration with other organizations. And not every survivor is going to need the same services. One survivor might need shelter and another might be interested in case management or one might be interested in support groups and another might be interested in counseling. And so we can really connect survivors so much better. with multiple services when we have these relationships with other organizations who do a variety of different things to support survivors. So we've talked a lot about isolation and the experience of isolation, which is so common for people who are experiencing domestic or sexual violence. And so when we think about isolation, the opposite of isolation is really connection. And we have to think strategically about how to connect survivors with supportive services. And I can imagine this is true. em especially so for survivors who might not even know that advocacy services exist or that a shelter exists. So can you talk a little bit about outreach and how do you inform survivors that there is support available? There are services out there. Yeah, think outreach is the key. It is vital. You know, every service provider, if they could potentially add the deaf crisis line to their emotional materials or the 988-VP or 988-Chat and Text, if you could add that to your website, that's one way of getting that information out about deaf lead services. Also, just reaching out to us, going ahead and making that partnership, figuring out how to make your services more accessible. ah We can help you with making things more accessible. think just working together really makes a huge difference in a deaf survivor's experience. Yeah, I agree with that. And like Rachel mentioned about the visual aspect of that, it's really, that's something we really want to emphasize. Like one example is you could add on your shelter, you know, building service providers, maybe a bulletin board. It can be something physical. You can see there's flyers for 9-8-8. We do have flyers that have people signing like the word connect and it's for 9-8-8. It's advertising the video phone line. I guarantee you a lot of deaf and hard of hearing survivors will see that and recognize that that's a deaf person. And that's how they can connect to that flyer or that service. So whenever you have something that is signed invisible, that is already going to pull people in. It's going to pull in survivors to help them realize there are services out there and this is where I can find it. Those are such great tips. So I want to talk a little bit about residential programs and shelters in particular. Not every survivor of domestic and sexual violence that you all work with at DeafLEAD will need shelter or be interested in shelter, but I imagine that some do need a safe place to go, do need an emergency shelter em to just leave an abusive relationship or a home where there's violence. And so I can imagine you all are providing support to survivors who are deaf, who are in shelters outside of the DeafLEAD Organization, because you all don't have shelters at a shelter at DeafLEAD. And so I'm wondering if you have any tips about how shelter programs can best support survivors who are deaf within that residential setting. What are things that shelter programs can do to just make that shelter life experience a little bit easier. Do you want to take that Rachel? You want me to take that? Okay. Yeah. So. Whenever a deaf or hard of hearing survivor walks into your doors, again, something that we mention is letting them know that we have deaf service providers available. Is that something you'd like to connect to? We can all work together on this, if that's something that you'd like that will give the survivor a sense of ease, like, oh, I have somebody who could advocate with my cultural experience. We have that similarity. Just little pieces there like exposure, letting them know that there's resources out there that are culturally relevant, just a lot of exposure for the survivor, allowing them to make their own decisions. I think that that's where they'll feel kind of self-empowered and motivated by that to make progress on their journey. As well as having our support on that journey, I think that that will work wonders. I could add, yeah, what Tozzie said, just little changes here and there can have a huge impact on their safety as well as their comfort level. If they enter and they see that staff are trying to do everything they can, maybe with a flashing fire alarm or a flashing doorbell or having video phones, video phones are actually free. You can call the company and have those installed for free, having access to an interpreter, having pen and paper ready. Doing those little things really makes that deaf survivor feel at ease and that additional labor goes away, that stress, they know they're in the right place. Oftentimes if they come into areas and there isn't communication accommodated, it just feels more more stressful. The burden becomes even greater and they would rather sometimes just go back to their abuser because at least there they have communication access. And so we don't want that to happen. We want to make sure that they are comfortable and that they feel safe. Video phones are free, huh? Can you tell us more about that? Do you all recommend that shelters have a video phone available for survivors who are deaf? Yes, I can give you the reference. I can give you some video phone companies that you can talk with them. If you have questions about that, I'm happy to, yeah, you can reach out to us. Later on, we can share our email with you for that. Okay, great. We can put some information about that in the show notes. But what I'm hearing is your suggestions for um shelter programs is to get in touch with you all at DeafLEAD to talk through what that individual's needs might be and how you can best support them and connect them with accommodations or just maybe a trauma-informed approach so that they feel comfortable and safe in shelter. Yes. You all have also talked at length about this idea of bridging the gap, of connecting with survivors uh and connecting survivors who are deaf with supportive services. um And then at a larger level, really bridging the gap between deaf communities and hearing communities. And so I would love to hear about like why bridging the gap is an important uh approach to you all. and what bridging the gap means to you. Yes, I'm happy that you brought this up, Nora. Great question. Yes, in regards to bridging the gap, know, deaf individuals and hearing individuals, it's important that they're able to work with one another and to close that gap between communities. If we can do that, then survivors won't feel left out. They won't feel isolated. They'll be able to get the type of services they really need. They won't have frustration with communication or lack of communication on top of not feeling safe and not being able to access the services they need. It's important that they have access and that mutual respect is there, that the dignity of the human is respected and seen. And at DeafLEAD, we're working on providing trainings for non-deaf or hearing staff. so that they can know to provide trauma-informed interpreters that they have deaf-friendly spaces where deaf individuals feel supported and safe. And deaf survivors have had experiences with language deprivation where they didn't have access to communication growing up. And that now impacts their ability to build relationships with others. And so knowing to take the time to earn their trust. If there's no trust, Oftentimes they don't have the trust or love of their own family growing up. They didn't have access to communication. So it takes time for them to build up that trust. But every little step will take time. It will build that trust with them. And so for example, Toddly and I are now working on an ASL project, classes so service providers can learn about the deaf community and improve their relationships with the deaf survivors they serve. That's wonderful, I can't wait to talk about that class. I did want to just get to a couple more things and then we're gonna take a deep dive into talking about your new course. But before we get to that, I wanted to know, as members of the deaf community, is there anything in particular that you kind of wish there was more understanding about from hearing people? Yeah, Rachel, did you have something? Now go ahead, Fuzzy. Sure, that's a great question. I think primarily it would just be patience. Like be patient with the people that you're working with. I know that communication takes time, especially just inherently with people that are deaf. So leading with empathy, offering what you can, offering what you have, patience, I think that's a big part of it. Yeah, I agree with you, Tozzie, yes. I want to talk about this ASL course that you all are developing to bridge the gap. So oh how would you describe it? Do you have like a stump speech to describe the ASL course? What is it in a nutshell? Yes, Tazzy and I are working to develop a course, a glossary of terms, different ways to sign, some of the things that come up. We also touch on deaf culture and the importance of people to understand that the deaf community has a culture. And they're different from people who aren't deaf or hearing people as we say. um You know, you're raised in a different culture. The values, the mannerisms can be very different. And so It'll be really fun for Todd and I to dive in and explain deaf culture or deaf community to individuals. So have a deeper understanding and then you can understand and relate with deaf survivors in many ways. Can you give us an example of Deaf culture? We can, sure. We're oftentimes very direct or might you say blunt, deaf individuals. Sometimes I'll make comments. If you run into someone, you might say something like, hey, you've gained some weight. I haven't seen you in a while. Wow. They might just say that directly, which if you're from a community that is not deaf individuals, hearing individuals would never say that. That would be very rude to tell. to someone to make a comment about their body. But in Deaf culture, being very direct, very explicit, talking about weight gain or weight loss, how you look, asking what happened, what did you do, like what kind of food they're eating, or if they have something in their teeth, or if they have, I don't know, new face jewelry, like a nose ring, they'll comment on it and it's okay. So in our presentation, we go into a lot more detail about that, about Deaf culture and our directness. Well, I cannot wait to get into that presentation. That seems very interesting for sure. So when you think back to the early days of you all developing this course, because I can imagine it's been a really big project, but when you think back to when you first got the idea, what inspired you to take on this project? Where did the idea come from? Yeah, that's a question. really, DeafLEAD and the victim advocacy team, we came up with the idea because we wanted to really make sure that trauma informed ASL was more, we raised awareness for that. Okay, so you're just really wanting to increase awareness and this is one way to do it. Who is the course designed to be for? but please go ahead and finish your original thought. yeah, no, that's no problem. Really. We wanted to help victim service providers across the state of Missouri. They can sign up for our course and this really is a benefit for them so that they're aware of the signs that may be used and how to be a little bit more sensitive and how we say the things that we say, um, just an awareness and to be better prepared for what may come through your door. So it's geared towards victim service providers who are providing services to survivors who are deaf. Yes. Yeah, our audience is for those victim service providers in the state of Missouri. Yes. Yeah, really anybody can sign up. You don't have to have a deaf victim that you're servicing. Anybody can sign up. There's no like pre-qualifications or anything like that. I'd love to hear some of the logistics of the course. How long is it? How much does it cost? Where can people sign up? Yes, one of the most wonderful words to ever hear about this type of thing is the word free. It is completely free, zero cost. As far as the length, it'll be an hour and a half in length. And let's see here, as far as the content, um we have 10 weeks of ASL. So we break it down per week, week one through 10. And so we highly recommend not missing any of those weeks, trying to make it to all of those weeks if you can. Yeah, that's all I'll say about that. So are they recorded sessions? Are they going to be like available virtual, em but at a certain day and time that people would need to join the session? Yeah, Rachel? Sure, yes. Oh, actually, Tozzie, you go ahead. Okay, yeah, so it's fully virtual. We'll be hosting these hosting these courses over Zoom and we're wanting to set it up to be weekly on Wednesdays. But the date is to be determined. We don't have it set yet. And we will have these recorded. And so we can then post those to YouTube and share the link with individuals who register. And for individuals who aren't able or weren't able to register or they missed it, no worries. You can still reach out to us if you are interested in learning more. We might grow the program sometime in the future. Okay, great. So it's kind of a both and. It's going to be uh something you can participate in on a certain day and time, but also access those recordings later on. Tozzie and Rachel, will you two be the instructors? We are. Yes. Yup, are Tozzie and I. That is awesome to hear because I have had the privilege of seeing you both train and you are fantastic educators. So I am thrilled to hear that you all will be providing this education to the community. So it might be too early to say, but where can people sign up? Sure. So we will be working on the deaf lead marketing for that. And we'll have flyers that will be distributed as well on those flyers. We'll have that information. We'll also set up a QR code. So anybody that wants to register can scan that with their phone and register that way. We're also partnering with Nora and the coalition will be able to have a wider reach thanks to that. Great. And so I know this is no small undertaking. There's a lot that goes into it. What are your hopes for this project? What outcomes would you like to see after it's available and you have victim service providers that have gotten the training? I'm actually very emotional in general. I would like to say in five years in the future, I don't know, that might be a long time to talk about, but I would love for victim service providers to know some signs and to be able to work with deaf survivors that would just, my gosh, warm my heart just thinking about that if they were able to sign because deaf individuals, have to fight so much and hearing individuals can often step in and get those services. And so if we can come in and people sign, it just makes my heart warm to think of deaf survivors being welcomed in. And so I just know things will get better and better over time. Yeah, I agree. I love that vision for the future. Is there anything you would add to that, Tozzie? Yeah, something I'm envisioning from this is to just continue spreading awareness about American Sign Language, about access to communication. And I mean, we're just thrilled to be able to provide a cultural context as well for people to be able to learn, an understanding. That benefits the people that are taking the course too, not just the deaf survivor. Yeah, absolutely. So um listeners, please know that we will be sharing information about how to register for this course as soon as it is available. And we'll share that out with our members. We cannot wait to get the word out as well. I just think it's a very promising project and I can't, it's just gonna be great to see people participating and getting this information under their belt. um So, more to come on that for sure. I also want to talk about this issue around trauma-informed ASL. Because this is a course particularly for victim service providers who are providing services to survivors who have experienced trauma. And so this issue of trauma-informed ASL becomes really important. And so can you tell us about trauma-informed ASL and maybe give us an example? Sure, I can. think that is a great question. using American Sign Language in a way that is culturally sensitive. So for deaf individuals who have experienced trauma won't be re-traumatized. em Sign language is very visual and can be iconic. So being mindful of the signs you're using, does it represent what you're talking about and can it have an impact on that person? em and what their mental stage is at that point. And so we're using specific signs that we want to make sure that we're reducing the impact of any type of emotional and safety for that individual. again, sign language being so visual, we're trying to be mindful of that. What am I representing in ASL? I don't want to cause trauma if they're seeing something that might elicit that. Do have any examples about how you could sign in a trauma-informed way? Certainly. So like Rachel mentioned, ASL is a very visual language. ASL has some, there's some sensitive terminology that comes up like domestic violence, sexual violence. And we have with ASL, there's people how they colloquially use it may not realize that some of these signs could come across as very harsh or kind of. vulgar and how they seem. And that could be kind of triggering to somebody who's survived those things. So we're trying to really encourage that shift to trauma informed ASL as a way to, like Rachel said, kind of decrease the violent gestures to something that's more neutral, a little bit more calm and allows the survivor to understand that. And we're able to follow the lead of the survivor and the language that they use. So. These are great tools. They are really intended with the survivor and compassion towards them. That's so great to hear about. So in addition to this course that you're rolling out, I am wondering if you have any other resources to suggest towards bridging that gap between deaf and hearing communities. Do you have any uh like online resources or publications, anything you could refer to? Yes, we definitely do. There are so many resources out there. Oh my goodness, the list goes on. let's see. um We can't send you all of the resources, but if you want to reach out to us, we do have a new email address. and it is signwithus@deaflead.org And if you'd like to email us, um we'll include information about our email, but we can give you more information about the classes and registering resources related to um deaf individuals. So yes, I would say the best way to get resources to reach out to us and we are happy to. respond, and we can also tailor the resources to what you're specifically looking for. What I'm hearing is get in touch with DeafLEAD if you really want to explore these resources further. Yes, that is correct. Well, I'm so thankful for you and the services you all provide. We need you dearly here in Missouri. So one thing I think about a lot when I think about our work to end domestic and sexual violence is the leaders in our movement or people have paved a way for us to get as far as we've come or who have inspired us to take action for positive social change. And so in your experience with the deaf community, is there anyone that's really inspired you or provided a lot of support um or just somebody you think has really helped you get to where you are today that you'd like to recognize? Yeah, I have one person in mind. I've always ah looked up to this person. He passed away a while ago, but this is Chuck Baird, somebody I look up to. And he's a famous deaf artist and painter, used ASL as inspiration for his paintings. And it's just very unique in his approach to artwork. And I've always felt inspired by him and seeing his art and... Yeah, going through middle school and high school with him as a role model, getting to see him do his thing as a deaf individual has always been inspiring. I said something that's stuck with me that is about how life can be hard, but that doesn't mean that it's over. so that's just always, that's something that's been persistent with me, helped me been persistent in my life. And whenever I have a goal that I want to attain, helping me get there. So that's who I would name as somebody who's inspired me. I'm gonna have to check out Chuck Baird. That does sound very inspiring. And when you think about it, art is just another way of bridging the gap, another way of communicating thoughts and ideas. So how cool is that? Rachel, is there anyone in particular who's been inspiring for you? I would say my parents. Yes, it's very lucky to have wonderful supportive parents. That's great to hear. Well, Rachel and Tozzie, I have learned so much from you through our time today. Thank you so much for sharing these really important thoughts and strategies for bridging the gap between deaf and hearing communities to best support survivors of violence. As we're wrapping up, did you have any final thoughts, anything you wanted to be sure to speak to today? Well, I know everyone's really excited to join our class. We haven't decided a date yet for that class. But if you want to go ahead and reach out to us to that new email, again, sign with us at deafly.org so that Tozzie and I know your interests. Just thank you so much, Nora, for having us today, for having this podcast and making it accessible. Thank you to the interpreters also. Thank you, Tozzie. for promoting this ASL project. It's been great working with you and thank you so much. And I look forward to working with you all, victim service providers and everyone. Thank you. Thank you, Rachel. Anything you wanted to end with, Tati. I I echo what Rachel said. We really look forward to providing this class to those who are interested. We're very excited about that. Well, Tozzie and Rachel, like I said, this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. Thank you interpreters for making this conversation happen. We certainly appreciate it. And thank you listeners for tuning in. Please join us next month for a new episode of Momentum for Change, Voices of the Missouri Movement.