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The mission of DeafHope is to end domestic violence and sexual assault against Deaf women and children through empowerment, education and services.

Description:
DeafHope is committed to providing services that are culturally and linguistically accessible to all parts of the Deaf community, including residential and mainstream deaf, late-deafened, Hard of Hearing, CODA, and deaf-blind individuals, in addition to Deaf service providers. At DeafHope we rely on the empowerment model. We believe that Deaf survivors have the ability and right to make their own choices toward living independently and safely. We believe that Deaf women and children are not responsible for violence, and they have a right to live in a healthy environment. As advocates, we provide support and information, working with her strengths, but only the survivor can make the best choices for her and her family. At DeafHope we recognize that in the majority of cases, women are assaulted. This happens because we live in a patriarchal society where violence against women is allowed and institutionalized. Men are also assaulted. At DeafHope we are committed to providing services to anyone who has experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault. As a community, we can end violence against women by educating ourselves, teaching our children nonviolence and respect, supporting survivors, and demanding accountability for those using violence.

History:
DeafHope is the only Deaf-run certified domestic and sexual violence agency in California. As a grassroots organization, our goal is to provide accessible support and empowerment to Deaf women who are survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence. Eight women from the Deaf community began providing services at DeafHope in February, 2003 and received nonprofit status in October, 2003.

DeafHope has grown rapidly since 2003, largely due to the great need for culturally specific services. We believe that Deaf survivors and their children deserve access to services that will support them through violent situations. One of the greatest successes of DeafHope thus far has been the outpouring of support from the community - individuals have donated their dollars, their time, and their expertise. DeafHope continues to draw on the strength and experience of survivors and Deaf women as leaders, advocates and volunteers. Another accomplishment of DeafHope is that we quickly made comprehensive support services available to the Deaf community. Deaf women have access to free services that are culturally and linguistically sensitive - provided in American Sign Language (ASL) and taking into consideration the cultural norms of the Deaf community. DeafHope now provides a 24-hour TTY hotline, support groups, legal advocacy, peer counseling and technical assistance services.

We have successfully utilized technology to improve our services and increase access for Deaf survivors. For example, our toll-free 24-hour TTY hotline operates with a completely unique approach, using a software system developed by a community member and donated to DeafHope. Most domestic violence organizations that have advertised a TTY line do not respond regularly to TTY calls, making the service unreliable for Deaf survivors. Our system allows volunteer advocates to be on-call at any location and be paged by the survivor using her own TTY. We also utilize two-way text pagers to communicate with Deaf survivors, allowing them continual access to their advocate at DeafHope.

Contact person: Amber Hodson, Volunteer Coordinator, (510) 325-2975, (email)
Office fax number: (510) 733-3103

Address:

470 27th Street Oakland, CA 94612 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.deaf-hope.org

Directions:

DeafHope is located at 470 27th Street in Oakland between Broadway and Telegraph. To reach DeafHope by BART: Get off at the 12th Street, 19th Street or McArthur stations Click here for more BART information. To reach DeafHope by Bus: Bus Routes running on. . . (more)