Laserfiche WebLink
Limited to No Outreach and Engagement <br />Few victim service providers conduct outreach and community education to Deaf communities. <br />Traditional outreach efforts aren't often conducted in places where Deaf community members <br />congregate, such as Deaf schools, clubs, or community events. In addition, many outreach <br />strategies, including television and radio ads, are inaccessible to Deaf community members <br />and those that rely on print media pose barriers, especially to those for whom English is a <br />second language. The content of common outreach efforts often does not resonate with Deaf <br />community members. For example, abusive behaviors commonly used against Deaf survivors <br />(such as destroying communication devices such as smart or video phones) aren't typically <br />included in outreach brochures and images that resonate with Deaf people, such as people <br />signing or using technology to communicate, aren't commonly used either.[38] <br />While a limited number of programs conduct traditional outreach efforts to Deaf communities, <br />even fewer are engaged in the most promising strategy to reach Deaf survivors: community <br />engagement work. Community engagement work is long-term, and it focuses on building <br />relationships and trust with trusted leaders and institutions within the Deaf community. It also <br />helps providers understand the dynamics of the community and the needs of Deaf survivors, <br />which they can draw upon to tailor their services to better meet those survivors' needs. Vera <br />has used this strategy in our own work with Deaf communities across the country to great <br />success. It requires a significant investment of staff time, financial resources for interpreters <br />(among other expenses), and skills in building cross-cultural partnerships. Unfortunately, <br />outside of the funding provided through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence <br />Against Women's Disability Grant Program, no dedicated opportunities exist to support this <br />time and resource intensive work. Since 2006, out of the 91 collaborations that have been <br />funded through this grant program, less than 10 percent, or 7, have focused on developing <br />collaborations between hearing and Deaf organizations, and few such partnerships exist <br />outside of this funding opportunity.[59] <br />Because specialized outreach efforts aren't widespread and in-depth partnerships are almost <br />non-existent in most communities, most Deaf community members don't know where to <br />reach out for help related to domestic and sexual violence. <br />is <br />