Charity recruits dedicated advisor to support deaf community
A South Yorkshire charity has employed a dedicated advisor to support the growing number of deaf people needing support in the community.
Citizens Advice Doncaster Borough has used flexible funding from British Gas Energy Trust to employ its own deaf advisor trained in British Sign Language to help communicate with people suffering from hearing loss.
One in six people in the UK have some kind of hearing loss, with Doncaster having one of the highest populations of deaf residents outside of London due to the well-established deaf college in the city.
James Woods, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Doncaster Borough, said:
“There are significant challenges within the deaf community. Not only are they struggling with energy costs like many people, they also struggle to access the right support or handle their bills.
“When the deaf community come up against problems, it’s not as straightforward as just ringing up your supplier. And you’d think the support that energy providers put in place like chat bots would be helpful, but they’re not because the literacy levels among the deaf community are quite low. It’s a huge barrier that needs to be overcome.”
Recognising that the need for dedicated support, James used British Gas Energy Trust funding to recruit the advisor, who has been in post for the last six months.
He added:
“It’s going pretty well, though it’s taken a while to establish the support and build the level of trust required. We’ve worked with local groups to help develop relationships and we’re now able to run workshops specifically for people in the community who need that support.
“The engagement side of things is really important – we need to show that we are here to support the deaf community.
“We’ve been able to adapt our services to their needs, so we now offer support over WhatsApp, provide people with videos to watch and use a platform that can help with sign language.
“I feel as though the deaf community have also missed out on a lot of the practical energy tips, particularly around how to use smart meters, so now we’re able to put plans in place to support people.
“And people are now able to come to us straight away with an issue, instead of them waiting for weeks for a friend or family member to help them.”
The service is helping people like Sandra*, who was in arrears with her energy supplier. Her condition also meant she was extremely anxious, causing her to be worried about the mounting debt.
After working with Citizens Advice’s dedicated deaf advisor, Sandra’s worries were eased. The advisor acted on her behalf, contacting the supplier to get all the relevant information and took the time to explain the detailed situation. The advisor was able to sort all issues, including arranging for future Universal Credit payments to go direct to paying off energy bills. She was also given a Warm Home Pack to help alleviate the issues of having a draughty home.
*name changed to protect identity