Delaware Deaf Visor Card video
Delaware School for the Deaf (DSD) made a video demonstrating how to use the newest visor card. Deaf Outreach helped update the original card. Visor Card Applications can be found at the Delaware Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DODHH) at https://labor.delaware.gov/divisions/dvr/dodhh.
Hold the Date: Emergency Prepardness (zoom, April 29, 2023)
Hold the Date flyer 2023 (PDF version)
HLDE March 2023 Circle Chats (Newark and Dover locations)
Free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program (Newark – May 19/20, 2023
NCC Department of Emergency Management
The City of Newark in cooperation with the New Castle
County Office of Emergency Management will be
conducting a Basic CERT training course on Friday, May
19 from 4:30 – 9:30 p.m and Saturday, May 20 from 8 a.m. –
4 p.m. This 12-hour training program will be provided free
of charge at the Newark Senior Center, located at 200
White Chapel Drive.
During this two-day, 12-hour course of instruction,
students will learn a variety of hazard awareness and
emergency preparedness skills which will make them and
their families better equipped to deal with all hazardous
emergency situations, as well as assist first responders
and emergency management officials in certain aspects
of response and post event recovery activities.
Course curriculum includes American Heart Association
CPR/AED Certification, basic first aid, hazardous materials
awareness training, basic family preparedness strategies,
proper use of home and office fire extinguishers, search
and rescue, and more. Students also receive a CERT
participant’s training manual and a CERT backpack with
basic personal protective equipment including hard hat,
gloves, safety glasses, and a flashlight.
Students will be provided a light dinner at the Friday
evening session, and breakfast and lunch at the Saturday
session at no cost.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Program educates people about disaster preparedness
for hazards that may impact their area and trains them
in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light
search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical
operations. Using the training learned in the classroom
and during exercises, CERT members can assist others
in their neighborhood or workplace when professional
responders are not immediately available to help. CERT
members also are encouraged to support emergency
response agencies by taking a more active role in
emergency preparedness projects in their community.
Pre-registration is required.
REGISTER AT
www.newcastlede.gov/158/Community-EmergencyResponse-Team
Activity #: 3359-103 Fee / RDF: Free
Dates: May 19 & 20
Days: Fri. & Sat. Hours: Fri. 4:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Newark Senior Center
Source: https://newarkde.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16827/2023-Winter-Spring-Activity-Guide – page 27
DAD Note: ASL Interpreters available if requested as Feta Fernsler, current DAD President is CERT certified. These classes are offered every year or so if the dates do not work for you.
Kent County: not listed, instead contact local office for details, see https://www.co.kent.de.us/public-safety/emergency-medical/community-and-outreach.aspx
Sussex County: Citizen Corps is used and works similarly to CERT. See https://sussexcountyde.gov/citizen-corps.
Other similar groups of interest: https://preparede.org/volunteer
Deaf Emergency Preparedness Event (Rehoboth Beach, Nov. 12, 2022)
Emergency Sirens Tested on Tuesday, October 4
SMYRNA, Del. — The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and Delaware State Police will conduct a quarterly test of the Salem/Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations Alert and Notification system on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. The sirens will sound at approximately 10:45 a.m.
The 37 sirens located within ten miles of the Salem/Hope Creek (New Jersey) plants will be activated for three to five minutes. The siren tests will be followed by a test message of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on local radio stations.
The sirens tested are the same ones used to alert the public in the event of an actual emergency at either the Salem or Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations. If such an emergency were to occur, the public would be alerted by the sirens to tune their radios to one of the local EAS stations for important emergency instructions.
To check whether you live within the EPZ, you can click here: https://de.gov/epz.
To learn more about radiological preparedness, check out PrepareDE.org.
DAD Note: Pets may be alarmed during the test and this is also to give you a heads up if they act up. The majority of Middletown, St. Georges, Delaware City, Townsend, and Odessa are within the alarm testing range. Delaware Emergency Notification System (DENS) is now active and works with Smart911 which sends alerts to your phone, register at https://dema.delaware.gov/onlineServices/index.shtml?dc=dens.
Source: https://news.delaware.gov/2022/09/29/emergency-sirens-tested-on-tuesday-october-4.
Family Emergency Preparedness Day Returns on September 17
Free family event features demonstrations and fun activities for all ages and abilities.
SMYRNA, Del. (August 9, 2022) — After a two-year absence, the 16th annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day returns on Saturday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Brecknock County Park, 80 Old Camden Road, Camden, DE 19934. The rain date is Sunday, September 18.
September is “National Preparedness Month,” and attendees can get a wealth of resources and information to enhance their emergency preparedness – all in a fun, family environment. Exhibitors will offer interactive activities, games, promo items, and safety-themed giveaways. Kids can join “Emergency Kit Relay Races” and there will also be prizes in a “Preparedness and Safety Scavenger Hunt.”
Be early! The first 500 people who complete an activity challenge will get a free water ice from Kona Ice!
Many agencies and organizations are currently represented but interested groups can still sign up! Volunteers are also needed to assist with event management and support. To register, volunteer, or get more information, send an email to: jamillya.l.scott@delaware.gov
More info at https://news.delaware.gov/2022/08/09/family-preparedness-day-returns.
** DAD Note: Please contact them if you need ASL interpreters or other accessibility needs. Feta plans to attend to raise d/hh awareness again.
Inaccessible Telehealth Apps Don’t Just Exclude – They’re A Matter Of Life And Death
The Covid-19 pandemic reshaped the healthcare landscape in a myriad of ways – mainstreaming multiple elements that were previously non-existent or on the periphery.
Face masks and vaccination websites are all here to stay at some level or another but the most seismic shift has undoubtedly been the explosion in telehealth in the form of remote medical consultations.
At the outset of the pandemic, telemedicine comprised less than 1% of primary care visits but this figure had skyrocketed to 43.5% within two short months.
Now the genie is out of the bottle and telemedicine consultations in healthcare are about as normalized in day-to-day life as Zoom calls are in business.
Bringing American Sign Language to local weather alerts
Burglund is deaf.
While she followed her instincts to pull over into a parking lot, she didn’t know what was going on. Moments later, a giant tree fell nearby, she said. If she had stayed on the road, she realized, she would have been risking her life.
Severe weather is one of the main reasons people tune in to local news stations. Broadcast meteorologists are able to share minute-to-minute details such as location, timing and storm tracks. Yet Burglund — and nearly 1 million other people in the United States — don’t get the same weather information most people rely on their local broadcast meteorologists to provide.
“I rely on my family to interpret when there is bad weather, and when they are not home I can barely tell what is going on,” said Burglund. “Having access to the same safety as others would help so much.”
The National Weather Service has made efforts in recent years to better reach those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Weather radios are available with strobe lights or vibrating alert features for emergencies. Many cities offer storm spotter classes in American Sign Language (ASL). And national catchphrases such as “when thunder roars, go indoors” have been adapted to “see a flash, dash inside.” Weather Service meteorologist Trevor Boucher says this phrasing and imagery can benefit the hearing and deaf community alike.
But there is still a critical gap when it comes to the “nowcasting” provided on local television. ASL is the primary language for more than 500,000 Americans, and unfortunately, it’s not a language that many broadcast meteorologists are familiar with, although there are some examples. Brek Bolton, a meteorologist at Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, has been using ASL on social media for years. In the 2010s, meteorologist Robert Gauthreaux III delivered ASL forecasts for the Baton Rouge area.
Read the rest of the story at https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/15/asl-weather-sign-language-severe.