Increasing Resources for Reno’s Deaf Community
Reno is named the “Biggest Little City in the World,” however big cities typically provide many resources and organizations for its residents. That is not the case regarding the deaf community in Reno.
Marilyn Bennett, event organizer of the ASL (American Sign Language) social group on meetup.com, has a granddaughter who lives in Utah that lost her hearing at about three months old. A good relationship with her granddaughter is very important to Bennett so she has made it a goal to learn ASL in order to communicate with her granddaughter.
Because Bennett lives in Reno, she gains most of her knowledge of ASL from local resources.
“I got involved with the classes in the school district and TMCC (Truckee Meadows Community College), just a short one, and also we found a class through DAHHARC, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy Resource Center, and I believe it was at that class we found out about this Meetup group,” says Bennett.
DAHHARC is an advocacy group in Nevada that provides resources and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Although DAHHARC plans on returning to Reno in the near future, the organization has only one location in Las Vegas right now.
Although she has been learning a lot from the classes she takes and from her ASL Social Group, she has still been disappointed with the resources Reno provides for the deaf community, or lack thereof. Being in the Meetup group it allows Bennett to practice her signing and be a part of the deaf community. The Meetup group takes place at Barnes and Noble at 6 p.m. every Thursday evening.
Bennett is not impressed with the resources that are provided for the local deaf community.
“I am very disappointed and frustrated that DAHHARC is not here anymore. I’m feeling the loss of that advocacy group because I knew where I could go for resources when they were here and now I just have to contact my deaf friends and I don’t know what they do and what resources they have here that are similar to what they have in northern Utah,” says Bennett.
The Nevada Association of the Deaf (NVAD) is another advocacy group in Nevada. NVAD is a statewide organization that was founded in 1981 and the organization works with 48 other states in the United States. NVAD works to support and provide equal rights for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Nevada.
Gary Olsen, former president of NVAD, lost his hearing at seven and a half years old due to spinal meningitis. Olsen was the president of NVAD for approximately 15 years.
“I would like to work for interpreter training and a bill to set up statewide service centers to enable deaf and hard-of-hearing people to obtain necessary help to make their lives better,” said Olsen.
Some examples of the services that Olsen would like are access to better education, employment, and communication and health services.
Although resources and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing are limited in Reno, there are some events and services in cities and towns nearby.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 4 at the State Capitol Building in Carson City, there was a Deaf Grassroots Movement (DGM) rally that took place nationwide in all 50 states at each state’s Capitol Building. The DGM is working toward gaining equality for the deaf and hard-of-hearing through ending job/employment discrimination, ending the communication barrier and more.
There is also a camp further north of Reno that is for the deaf and hard-of-hearing youth ages 7 to 19. The camp is called Camp Signshine and is located at Camp Ronald McDonald in Eagle Lake, California. This camp provides a place for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teens to develop social skills, communication enhancement, and learn in a safe environment.
The deaf community in Reno is continuing to grow and has a lot of work to be done on improving the quantity and quality of resources for the youth and the adults in the community. However, there are many hardworking individuals in Reno and the smaller surrounding cities that are dedicated to improving the amount of resources and services provided in the Northern Nevada area.
The community of Reno must come together and work as a team to make changes.
“In order to make our communities better and equal among all people, deaf and hearing, we need to come together and embrace the communication so we all can be involved and contribute to society. Main key to all is mutual respect for each other mostly in accepting the cultural differences for every group. Need to embrace respect for our language (ASL) and the rights others have,” said Olsen.