Deaf Planet Soul serves and empowers the Deaf and Hard of Hearing through programming in childhood literacy, women's self defense, job training, business development, social events and more. THE PROBLEM
The Deaf and hard of hearing face a myriad of burdens in the US. Deaf Planet Soul is working to change this. Some of the problems we address include the following:
• Deaf adults face an unemploymen
t rate of about 47%.
• Deaf women are twice as likely as hearing women to experience domestic violence.
• The average Deaf adult reads at about the 4th grade level.
• Deaf individuals of all ages experience high rates of social isolation, often stemming from mainstream education and separation from Deaf peers.
• As a result of the aforementioned isolation, Deaf adults often struggle with executive functioning skills.
• Fewer than 1% of US movie theaters offer open captioning.
• Virtually no fitness centers in the US offer on-site ASL interpreting or instruction as the standard.
• Deaf consumers are often denied access to qualified ASL interpreters, even in legal and medical settings. THE SOLUTION
How will our community center resolve these problems? Through the following:
• Direct employment of 62 Deaf adults; programming vocational training; resume building workshops
• Women's self defense courses and programming in conflict mediation
• Literacy courses for Deaf adults and programming for Deaf children
• The establishment of a safe space for Deaf people to gather socially
• Movie theater space with open captioning as the standard
• Built-in fitness center and Deaf-accessible sports leagues
• In-house ASL interpreting agency with easy access for both consumers and businesses
Interested in supporting our goals? Donate today! https://www.deafplanetsoul.org/donate.html
