Special Programs and Projects

FRESNO:

Project: C.A.R.E - Cancer Awareness, Recovery, and Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Our C.A.R.E. program funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure is back for the third year! Stephanie Flerchinger and Becky Edens-Paul are here again for their second year as Breast Cancer Educators. The goal of this grant is to educate many Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals on the importance of Early Detection. Early Detection is the best weapon to catch Breast Cancer at an early stage. Breast Cancer can happen to anyone regardless of their gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Yes, it means men can get it too! This year DHHSC will have a variety of workshops and events that include a movie night, mammogram tour, Race for the Cure, Mother/Daughter Tea party, and many more. Last year, for the 2009 "Race for the Cure," DHHSC hosted the first official Deaf Team in the Central Valley. Once again, we will have a Deaf Relay team, and if you are interested in joining, please contact the Fresno Headquarters at (559) 225-3323 or email Stephanie at stephanief (at)dhhsc.org or Becky at beckyep (at) dhhsc.org. The Race for the Cure will be held on Saturday, October 23rd, and we would love to have you join us!

MERCED OUTREACH:

Project: L.E.A.D THE WAY TO SUCCESS (Learning signs, Empowering parents, & Advocating for Deaf and hard of hearing children):

This special program is funded by First 5 Merced County. Through this L.E.A.D. grant, we are able to offer FREE American Sign Language (ASL) classes, monthly ASL Storytelling Sessions, and Early Intervention /Counseling services for families with deaf and hard of hearing children. Anyone in the family with a child between the ages of 0-5 is invited to participate, which also includes pregnant women, grandparents, and relatives! For more information about our services, please contact Angelica Martinez at angelicam (at) dhhsc.org.

Project: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Access to Safety and Health (D.A.S.H.)

United Way of Merced County funds D.A.S.H., and this program is available to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals of all ages within Merced County. The program focuses on providing FREE education to the community through workshops, events, and peer counseling. We have resources for the community to utilize in order to monitor their health and to establish goals that promote a healthier lifestyle. We also aim to educate Merced County as a whole about the unique health concerns of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population, and how we can collaborate with other agencies to better serve their needs. For more information, please contact Beth Lilley at bethl (at)dhhsc.org.

CENTRAL COAST OUTREACH:

Project: Literacy, Empowerment, and Advocacy Program (L.E.A.P)

LEAP is funded by Harden Foundation and additional generous private donations. This is a program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their families in Monterey County. Our goal is to provide Deaf and Hard of Hearing children (ages 0-18) and their families with resources that will further develop and strengthen the child’s literacy skills and communication for the entire family.

We offer many different services through L.E.A.P., which include workshops, events, American Sign Language (ASL) Classes, ASL Storytelling Sessions, Early Intervention Services, and Advocacy. We provide free sign language instruction for six weeks to Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their families and an ASL Storytelling Session once a month (2nd Saturday of each month from 2 to 4 PM) at Marina Library, with a voice interpreter provided. A large collection of Shared Reading Project Book Bags from

Gallaudet University is available for parents to borrow and bring home to read to their children in sign language. We offer one-on-one tutoring on how to utilize the Book Bags before parents take it home. In addition, we have an entire collection of Signing Time DVDs available for viewing, and we offer Early Intervention/Advocacy services. If you have any questions regarding the L.E.A.P program, please contact Nicole Bruno via email at nicoleb (at) dhhsc.org or call our Central Coast Office at 831-753-6540.

SOUTH VALLEY OUTREACH:

Project: DeafWrite

Improve your English reading and writing skills! Space is limited.

The classes are FREE!

OPTION 1: DeafWrite Beginner's class: Do you want to improve your English skills? Do you want reading and writing lessons? Do you get mail that you don't understand?

Contact Jesse Lewis via e-mail at: Jessel (at) dhhsc.org today to ask about DeafWrite Beginner's class. He can explain more details to you in person or through VP about the classes.

OPTION 2: DeafWrite Intermediate class: Do you want to take your English skills to the next level? Would you like to increase your vocabulary and learn phrases hearing people use? Are you interested in becoming more comfortable with English and communicating with hearing people?

Contact Jesse Lewis by e-mail at: Jessel (at) dhhsc.org today to ask about DeafWrite Intermediate class.

These classes are FREE. They will be in the South Valley Outreach office in Visalia: 3200 S. Fairway Street, Suite G, Visalia, CA 93277

WHY TAKE A CLASS? -To have better communication with hearing people -To be more comfortable reading your mail -To feel more confident in job interviews -So that you can enjoy watching captioned movies/television, Learn to read books for fun, Write about your life and keep for notes for memories ….And many more reasons to improve your reading and/or writing skills!