DEAF people in Swindon and Wiltshire will benefit from a range of new support services to be provided by charity GDA.

Despite its name, the Gloucestershire Deaf Association (GDA) does not only provide information and support in our neighbouring county – it has recently spread its wings and extended its range so that people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the Wiltshire area can also benefit.

Hands On Communications used to provide a BSL interpreter for patients at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, but from April 1, GDA started providing the service instead. Many of the signers who used to work through Hands on are now registered with the GDA. But the GDA offers plenty more.

Gemma Sill, of the GDA, said: “We support people with any level of hearing loss, whether they were born deaf, use British Sign Language or acquired hearing loss through illness or age.”

The GDA offers all sorts of help to people of all ages, such as social activities, employment support and help with hearing equipment. Swindon’s Oscar-winning Maisie Sly has attended the GDA’s Cirencester Deaf Children’s Club – which gives youngsters a chance to socialise and families an opportunity for mutual support.

Maisie’s father Gilson, who is partially deaf, now works at the GDA as a youth participation leader.

“He knows all too well the daily struggles deaf children and their families can face,” Gemma said. “That puts him in a unique position to support others.”

During April, the GDA organised a series of events in Swindon to give their adult service users a chance to introduce themselves find out more about them. The GDA tour took in West Swindon Library. Abbey Meads pub and the Savoy in the town centre, and shared information about how they could support people locally.

The charity offers free clinics around Gloucestershire for hearing aid maintenance, as well as advice on telephone amplifiers, flashing doorbell chimes, television loops and special smoke alarms. They also provide BSL interpreters for situations such as dental and medical appointments, lip-reading classes and family support.

“We also support people who are employed and to get into employment,” Gemma explained. “A BSL interpreter could be provided through the Government’s Access to Work programme – perhaps to sit with them for half a day – so the employee is no different from a hearing person.

“We are helping people who are deaf and in employment to make sure they have support,” Gemma said.

“We’ve only very recently come in to the Wiltshire area and we’re obviously keen to reach as many deaf people in the area as possible.”

The organisation relies on fund-raising and grant funding to support its work, and the more financial support they can secure, the more services they will be able to provide in Wiltshire.

“Our intention with Wiltshire will be to replicate this. Down the line, we would like to be able to do that, though we must be able to get the funding.”

The Cirencester Deaf Children’s Club (CDCC) meets on the first Saturday of each month at the Youth Opportunity Group play centre in Beeches Road and is just 20 minutes’ drive from Swindon.

“Every now and then the children go on day trips too. It’s for children aged up to eight years, and their families too, offering social and family support.

“Parents have a chance for conversation, talking about their experiences and sharing ideas.”

She explained that some hearing parents were anxious about their children learning sign language.

“Some have a fear of ‘losing’ their child, because they will be joining a world their parents are not part of,” she said.

“Children from Swindon do come to CDCC, and our aim is to be able to provide some services in Swindon.”

The youngsters, including Maisie, recently enjoyed a trip to Roves Farm, near Swindon, enjoying a Hungry Caterpillar tractor ride, feeding lambs and making the acquaintance of piglets.

For many people who are deaf or partially deaf, loneliness can be an enormous challenge.

“The biggest issue is isolation,” Gemma said.

Special events called the Friendship Circle are held twice a year for people who have acquired hearing loss, with a free lunch and a chance for socialising, where people can make new friends and be part of something. As Gloucestershire is a rural county, a transport fund is used to make sure people can attend. They have proved some of the most popular events organised by the GDA.

The GDA has also created a Deaf Communication Card, working in partnership with the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for people whose first language is BSL.

The purpose of the wallet-sized plastic cards is to help identify patients as deaf straight away, and their need for communications support, along with a 24-hour-a-day contact details for GDA, so that medical staff know how to book a BSL interpreter. This has proved a great success.

“We would love to be able to introduce this in Wiltshire,” Gemma said.

The GDA’s origins can be traced back to almost a century ago, when in 1919 the Diocesan Association for the Deaf was set up by the then Bishop of Gloucester.

The organisation became a registered charity and a limited company in 1992, when its name changed to GDA and a headquarters was set up in Colin Road, Barnwood, in Gloucester.

Today the organisation has a wider reach and offers a growing range of services.

It is responding to the great number of elderly people who have developed age-related hearing problems and consequently face isolation and a loss of confidence.

It is a user-led organisation, managed by a Council of Management whose members must either be deaf, hard of hearing or have a recognised interest in hearing matters, and Gemma is one of twelve full and part-time members of staff.

The organisation is also keen to hear from more BSL interpreters. For more information visit gda.org.uk or the Facebook page GDA Wiltshire.