The Canadian Hearing Society calls for Government funding for visual alarms and emergency notification systems for deaf and hard of hearing people

Toronto, ON, Fire Prevention Canada and the Office of the Fire Marshall of Ontario launched their Fire Prevention Awareness Week to raise awareness of fire prevention and safety. Since “CHS Day on Queen’s Park” on May 5, 2010, The Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) has urged government to prioritize funding visual alarms and emergency notification systems for Ontarians who are culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing. To date, CHS has received no formal response from Queen’s Park regarding Assistive Devices Program funding.

The worst flooding in 80 years continues to inflict untold suffering throughout large areas of Pakistan. One area which received some of the worst flooding was in the city of Sukkur. Unfortunately, it forced the closing of the Deaf Ranch and Training Center which recently opened by the Family Education Services Foundation (FESF) on March 10, 2010. Their Director, Daniel Marc, told us about the desperate situation that now exists in Sukkur and in other areas of Pakistan. With the floods they have had to close the school in Sukkur.

For more information, visit http://www.familycare.org/index.php?cID=1001

Tonight CHS is hosting a special fundraiser and awareness event at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. We’re thrilled that we have the chance to profile some of our services and programs in a new venue and introduce ourselves as an organization to many people who don’t already know us.

What makes this event really unique is something that many people will be seeing for the first time. Sure, the TCA has been dark to large-scale musical productions since the days of Garth Dabrinsky and Livent and the current main-stage feature is a critically acclaimed production of “My Fair Lady.”  But what really sets the whole evening apart is that the performance is accessible to people who are deaf, deafened and hard of hearing.

Communication. In many ways, I think a lot of us take it for granted. It’s not just about staying in touch with our friends and family, although that’s a big part of it. It’s also about staying connected with what’s going on around us – the cry of a baby through a monitor, the knock at the door, the blare of the smoke detector.

Life’s about communication, about connecting with the world.

But for the 1 in 4 Canadians who report having some degree of hearing loss, from ringing in their ears to being deaf since birth, there are innumerable barriers to clear and effective communication.  Take for example something that we consider commonplace, smoke detectors. Someone who is hearing can go to their local hardware store, pick one up for around $20, and install it in their home with a couple of screws and a new battery.  Yes, it drives you crazy when burning toast sets it off but at least you know it’s doing its job and you can hear it when it does.