COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
SLIAO believes in giving back to the community we serve.
Ottawa-Carleton Deaf and Deaf/Blind Long Term Care Project
Photo: Palliative Care Training for Volunteers
The Ottawa Deaf Communituy is working towards establishing a culturally appropriate long term care setting for Deaf and Deaf/Blind seniors in the Ottawa-Carleton area.
Since 2008 SLIAO has committed to working with the Deaf community to provide access wherever needed to meetings, training and information about palliative and long term care. As funding for interpreting in these settings is not well established, SLIAO provides the interpreting at reduced, minimal, or no charge to these organizations while at the same time helping them research sustainable sources of funding for future interpreting needs.
"Hospice News - Newsletter of the Hospice at Maycourt" Spring 2010 Issue
"5 members of the Deaf community participated in the 2009 Volunteer Orientation Course. With expert interpretation from 3 ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters they learned the many skills to be successful volunteers in palliative care. Now, whenever a member of our Deaf community needs palliative care , this core of volunteers will be ready to assist the staff of various facilities, including the Hospice at May Court, to provide culturally sensitive care. The inclusion of the Deaf truly paves the way for breaking down communication and cultural barriers that limit Deaf people's access to hospice palliative care. The cost of the interpreting services for the course was covered by Sign Language Interpreting Associates Ottawa INC." http://www.hospicemaycourt.com/pdf/newsletter/NLspringr2010.pdf
Support for our community
Coordinating and providing interpreters at no cost for:
- commemorative events in the community, farewell to Sister Alice Mailman and Celebration of the Life of Don Simonds
- Press Conference on Human Rights at University of Ottawa
- Total Communication Environment - Official Openings of group homes and events for residents
- 2 fundraisers for Ottawa Deaf Centre with author Francis Itani, author of "Deafening" (picture above)
Providing interpreting at reduced cost for:
Ottawa Community Coalition for Literacy
Ottawa Court House
Supporting Individual Projects in the Deaf community:
Financial support for Christine "Coco" Roschaert to present "A Deafblind Woman's Journey Around with a Cane" at the World Federation of the Deaf 2011 in Durban, South Africa. http://tactiletheworld.wordpress.com/
Person power for the movie "Interface" http://www.outercreations.com/
Supporting the development of the interpreting field:
Financial support for Ottawa area interpreters to attend AVLIC conferences
Financial support for a member of the Deaf community to attend AVLIC 2010
Guidance and support for the establishment of the new Post Secondary Interpreters Group in Ottawa now re-named CCIS "Connecting Communities Interpreting Service" interpretingschedule@yahoo.ca
Financial support for interpreters from developing countries to attend the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) conferences
Financial support for AVLIC conferencesMay 2008 SLIAO sponsored "Download : Cohesion in Interpreted Discourse May 2008, a workshop presented by Debra Russell for interpreters in Ottawa
