Philly Police Discriminates Against The Deaf

Deaf News: U.S. Justice Department concludes Philadelphia police discriminate against the Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- A U.S. Department of Justice review has found the Philadelphia Police Department discriminated against people who were Deaf or Hearing-Impaired. Philadelphia police handcuffed Deaf people behind their back, thus making them unable to communicate with sign language, DOJ wrote in a Dec. 7 letter to the department. Police did not inform courts that defendants appearing for a video arraignment were Deaf, so the individuals did not understand what was happening, according to the review. And police failed to provide qualified sign-language translators or other services to defendants, victims, and witnesses, according to the review.



DOJ said it was seeking to remedy the problems cooperatively through a consent decree with the department. "In the event that we are unable to reach such a resolution, the Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit pursuant to the [Americans with Disabilities Act]," the letter states. The Police Department issued a statement Friday evening saying it would work with DOJ to fix any problems.

"While the finding and conclusion regarding the complaint are sobering, we appreciate the DOJ's work and their input regarding the matter," the Police Department said. "We are using this as an opportunity to address a legitimate concern and make necessary improvements. The department's goal is to move beyond remedial measures with a commitment to making this department a model for others in adhering to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act." The Police Department said it would collaborate with the city's Office of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and with the Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities. The Justice Department review was prompted by a complaint from a man who had been arrested, and that led to four other people who alleged discrimination by police.

According to the original complaint:

In 2013, a 23-year-old man who was Deaf was arrested in court after he threw a bracelet hitting two people during a sentencing hearing for his brother. He was handcuffed behind his back, making him unable to use sign language. While in police custody, a radio room staffer was identified as having some sign language ability, but the man could not understand what was being communicated. The man asked for a qualified interpreter, but police ended their attempt to communicate and placed him in detention for 16 hours. During his video arraignment the next morning, the judge was not told he was Deaf and the video was not captioned. Two months later, police arrested him mistakenly for failing to appear in court. His hearing had actually been scheduled for a later date. He was again handcuffed behind his back, but after his mother intervened, the officers cuffed him in the front. When he explained the hearing had been rescheduled, the officers asked for documentation but would not allow him to search for it. After he was detained and released, he asked for a telecommunication system for the deaf, but the one police provided him did not work.



SOURCE

Deaf and Dying at the Ottawa Hospital

Deaf News: Deaf and dying: How a volunteer team brings palliative care comfort through communication in the capital of Canada.

OTTAWA -- Ottawa Citizen: The first experience Monica Elaine Campbell had with palliative care was helping a woman who had lost her ability to speak because of throat cancer.

Campbell, profoundly Deaf since birth, is an excellent lip reader and staff at an Ottawa Hospital asked if she could interpret the dying woman’s words. The woman had been communicating with paper and pen, but now was too weak even to do that.

“I was very hesitant. Then I thought, well, the least I could do is give it a try,” said Campbell, who is able to speak despite never having heard a word herself. “I put my hand on her right arm and said, ‘I’ve never done this before. I will try my best.”

WATCH: Video with CC - Ottawa Citizen.

Campbell leaned close as the woman mouthed her words. Campbell repeated it back and had the woman nod yes if she had understood correctly. She spent five hours with the woman, relaying messages between her and her family and the medical team. She was able to interpret about 85 per cent of what the woman told her.

“I came away a different person,” Campbell said. “I was very touched by the experience.”

The dying woman had not been Deaf, but the experience got Campbell thinking about the communication needs of people like herself: the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. A few years later, Campbell was asked to help a Deaf friend who was about to receive bad news about her cancer diagnosis.

“I didn’t know much about palliative care, but she was struggling with her terminal illness,” Campbell said. “I thought, my goodness, what if that was me? I thought, I should talk to my Deaf friends about death and dying and what our experiences have been.”

Those conversations led Campbell and her friend, sign language interpreter Christine Wilson, to start up the Ottawa Deaf Palliative Care Team, a group of volunteers that provide end-of-life care for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and their families. In 1999, she enrolled in palliative care courses at Algonquin College with two Deaf colleagues (the Deaf use a capital D to refer to the sub-culture of people who communicate with sign language; “Hard of Hearing” are those who have lost some or most of the hearing but can still use some speech, sometimes augmented with sign language; the “Deafened” or “Oral Deaf” have lost some or all of their hearing, but either learned to speak before their deafness or, like Campbell, learned to speak despite it.) Read More at Ottawa Citizen.

Blind Talks To The Deaf ?

VIDEO [CC] - How do a Blind person and a Deaf person communicate ?



'The Tommy Edison Experience', who’s been blind since birth, teams up with Deaf YouTuber Rikki Poynter to answer to the popular question “how does a Blind person and a Deaf person communicate with each other?”.

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Watch Tommy on Rikki’s channel in a video where they discuss how people mistaken their disabilities for other disabilities: When People Mix Up Being Deaf And Blind | ft. Tommy Edison.



Thanks to Andrea Lausell for being our interpreter.

Subscribe to Andrea’s channel: https://youtube.com/andrealausell



Special thanks to Abby Sams for helping out with the shoot.

Subscribe to Abby’s channel: https://youtube.com/abbysams/channel



Directed/Edited by Ben Churchill

Subscribe to Ben’s channel: http://youtube.com/radiotrippictures



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McDonald's Refuses Interview Deaf Applicant

Deaf News: McDonald's pays up $56,000 to the EEOC after manager refuses to interview Deaf applicant in Missouri.



BELTON, MO -- (AP) McDonald's will pay a $56,500 settlement after a southeast Missouri restaurant manager refused to interview a Deaf job applicant.



The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday announced the settlement with McDonald's Corp. and McDonald's Restaurants. A message seeking comment from the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company was not immediately returned.



The EEOC says a young man who can't hear or speak applied online in 2012 to work at the McDonald's in Belton, Mo. He had previous experience as a cook and cleanup team member at a McDonald's restaurant in another state.



A lawsuit filed by the EEOC says that when the restaurant manager learned the applicant needed a sign language interpreter for his interview, she canceled the interview, even though the applicant's sister volunteered to interpret.



SOURCE



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Deaf Woman Loses Legal Battle To Be Juror

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf woman loses High Court bid to serve on jury in Australia, claims “a smack in the face” for the Deaf community.



BRISBANE, AU -- The Independent: The High Court in Australia has ruled to deny a woman the chance to become the country’s first Deaf jury member, a decision she later described as “a smack in the face” for the Deaf community.



In 2012, a registrar told Gaye Lyons from Queensland she should be excused from jury duty as a sign language interpreter could not be sworn into the conference room, according to state law.



The 69-year-old can lip read but needs an interpreter to communicate, and decided to take her case against the Queensland government to the High Court.

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The court decided to uphold state law and said the presence of an interpreter in a deliberation room would cause “an incurable irregularity” which could affect the outcome of a case, resulting in the dismissal of Ms Lyons’ appeal.



Queensland attorney general Yvette D’Ath said the confidentiality of jury deliberations and the right to a fair trial were “among the most fundamental tenets of Australia’s justice system”, according to AP Australia.



"We're the same as everybody else, we're human, we have kids, we go to work, we drive cars, we pay mortgages - I was just fuming because I could not have equal access to this," Ms Lyons told reporters outside court.



"Why should the powers that be decide what's right for me, why should they decide what I can and can't do? It just made me livid, I was seething about the whole thing.”



Ms Lyons has repeatedly cited her detailed interest in the law and said jury duty was “something I really wanted to take part in”.



"After five years of struggle, just fighting for access for the Australian Deaf community, it felt like a slap in the face.”



"For them [the High Court] to say that interpreters could not relay information accurately, that was the living end, that was the last straw for me. Deaf people should not be treated differently. The High Court does not see that,” she added.



In 2011, a Deaf woman served on an inquest jury in the United Kingdom after several legal challenges found Deaf people can fully comprehend courtroom discourse and jury deliberations through interpreters.



Exemptions for Deaf people carrying out jury service in criminal trials were removed in Ireland and the UK after legal challenges during the 2000s. In the United States, they have been serving on juries since 1979.



New Zealand is another country where sign language interpreters are employed by courts to help Deaf jurors contribute to trials.



SOURCE

Deaf Brothers' Deaths Raise Isolation Concerns

Deaf News: Deaf rights campaigners plead for recognition to prevent more tragedies like death of Daniel and William McCarthy.



DUBLIN -- Irish Examiner: The Irish Deaf Society said that, if given official status, Irish Sign Language would have to be used in State services and Deaf people would be less at risk of isolation.



Eddie Redmond, the society’s chief executive, said: “The Deaf community face huge barriers in accessing services due to the lack of services available through Irish Sign Language.



“Services such as social workers, home help, the HSE etc need to be more aware of the needs of Deaf people and the importance of communication and provision of information through ISL.”



Mr Redmond was speaking following the discovery of the bodies of semi-reclusive brothers, Daniel and William McCarthy, at their home in Dublin on Tuesday.



Originally from Kerry, the brothers, in their 70s, were Deaf with limited verbal communication, and lived together in a terraced home at the Millrose Estate in Bluebell, Dublin for many years.



Daniel is understood to have run the household and became carer for William in recent years. It is believed that he passed away several weeks ago and William was unable - or felt unable - to seek help.



Their remains were found by gardaí after a neighbour noticed Daniel’s car had not moved for some time and there had been no sign of either brother outside the house. Their deaths are expected to be referred to the coroner’s court for an inquest but foul play has been ruled out.



The Health Service Executive (HSE) declined to say if the brothers were in contact with any of its services in recent times or if it was reviewing any interactions they may have had.



A statement said: “The HSE cannot comment on individual cases but would like to offer sincere sympathy to the McCarthy family at this time.”



Groups working with older people urged people with concerns for their own well-being, or that of a neighbour, not to be afraid to knock on a door.



Alone said older people should be encouraged to approach their neighbours for help, while Age Action asked younger people not to worry about appearing nosy if they enquired after an older person in their community... Read More at Irish News.



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Deaf Footy Fans Claims AFL Discrimination

Deaf News: Deaf footy fans claims Australian Football League discrimination.



MELBOURNE, AU -- The Age: The email came from a woman in Adelaide. "You moron, are you stupid? Are you paying for the interpreter or is the taxpayer paying for it? There are bigger issues in the world then a f--king interpreter".



Ramas McRae smiles, and shrugs his broad shoulders.



The Deaf community advocate has become the target of abusive messages after his public push to get the Australian Football League to provide Auslan (Australian sign language) translation at the Grand Final.



But when you're born with a disability, you learn to grow a thick skin, the Hawthorn fan says, signing to me through an interpreter, Mark Quinn.



A Hawthorn fan, McRae asked the league to provide a translator for the entertainment and ceremonies during the Grand Final this year, including the anthem. But the AFL refused, saying the closed caption system on TV was appropriate.



So McRae has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, claiming the AFL have discriminated against him on the basis of his disability, and also launched a change.org petition. He is supported by a range of groups, including Deaf Australia and Deaf Victoria.



With the AFL promoting awareness of the women's league, and LGBTI recognition through its Pride game, McRae wants it to extend this inclusion to Deaf people (at the cost of a few hundred dollars).



"The Deaf community, and Deaf football fans, have the right to be a visible part of this huge sporting event," McRae says. "As citizens, we also have the right to see the national anthem in our preferred language."



Closed captions often have a 30-second to one-minute time lag on them, and require a screen, which means people who are at the game will not be able to see them, he says. Auslan is a language with its own syntax and grammar, which is quite different to English.



Internationally, particularly in the United States, sign language is commonly used at sporting events, including at the grand finals of the National Football League and National Basketball Association.



"For Deaf Americans it's very normal. People are often quite surprised internationally that Australia lags so far behind."



Some sporting codes are keen on the idea. Melbourne Racing Club's head of racing, Jake Norton, contacted McRae after he heard about his request. The club would like to introduce interpreters at major race meets, he said.



The AFL believes an on-ground interpreter would not be seen by the crowd, because of the distance from the seating to the arena, a spokesman said in a statement.



And because the broadcast coverage moves around the crowd and arena – and rarely focuses on the announcer – an interpreter would not often be seen, he said.



Having an interpreter shown in a separate box in one corner of the television screen would still be difficult to see clearly, and would impact on the wider broadcast, he said.



The words of the anthem could be displayed on LED signage during the pre-game period, and the AFL is discussing this possibility, he said.



SOURCE

Deaf Pregnant Woman Sues Florida Hospital

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Deaf woman suing for interpeter in delivery room.



WPTV BOYNTON BEACH - Margaret Weiss is due to have her second child in less than a month. The Boynton Beach mother is Deaf and wants a real life interpreter in the delivery room with her, but she says her hospital is refusing to provide that.



"They're discriminating against me," explained Weiss, with the help of a certified sign language interpreter. She explained the fear she has about going into the delivery room at Bethesda Hospital. "It's really serious. What if there was something life-threatening that happened during the delivery?" said Weiss.

Weiss has filed a lawsuit against Bethesda for denying her request for a live interpreter to be in the room with her. The hospital provides the hearing impaired with VRIs or Video Remote Interpreting.



Weiss says this is not effective communication for a woman giving birth and ultimately a violation of the Americans Disabilities Act.



"No one can sit there in labor and just watch a fixed screen," said Weiss. "You can't do that. It's much better to have a live interpreter that's mobile and can move around. It's a lot more comfortable. They can lean over. They can get in a different spot." Weiss says on top that, in her experience, the VRIs do not work all the time.



Weiss said she had to go to Boca Raton to deliver her first daughter in order to have a live interpreter... Read more: wptv.com/news/region-s-palm-beach-county/boynton-beach/hearing-impaired-pregnant-woman-sues-hospital-wants-interpreter

Eurovision Sign Language Interpreter Is A Web Hit

VIDEO: Deaf News: Sweden's Eurovision finalist was chosen at the weekend but for many it was the bespectacled 48-year-old who signed the songs for Deaf people who stole the show.



STOCKHOLM -- Sweden's Tommy Krangh's silky dance moves quickly became a huge hit on social media with millions watching his video on Facebook and YouTube.



It takes a lot to steal the show from the notoriously flamboyant Eurovision entries, but this Swedish sign language interpreter's energetic moves and expressive gestures have managed to do just that.



Tommy Krångh has become an overnight sensation in Sweden after putting on the performance of his life, interpreting pop singer Magnus Carlsson's attempt to enter Eurovision.

But while Carlsson's upbeat tune may have failed to impress audiences in the Scandinavian country, being voted ninth out of 12 entries vying to represent at the annual competition, many are now calling for 48-year-old Krångh to take the stage for Sweden in Vienna this May.



The video of Krångh's exuberant interpretation has been shared thousands of times in Sweden, and across the world.



The delighted interpreter has told Swedish newspapers he was 'thrilled' with the reaction and has been 'love-bombed' on Twitter by people who enjoyed his energetic performance, even getting the odd marriage proposal.



'It´s been absolutely amazing,' he told MailOnline. 'I´ve been love-bombed from a thousands of people. People are even proposing to marry me. This is something I could never imagine.



'It's a once in lifetime experience after being a signer for so many years. I love that sign language gets so much attention at the moment.' ... Read More at Dailymail.



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Cyclone Sign Language Guy Goes Viral

VIDEO: Deaf News: Auslan interpreter who keeps stealing the show and everyone’s hearts during cyclone press conference.



BRISBANE -- Queensland has been battered by a Category 5 Cyclone and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been busy warning people about the #cyclonemarcia storm.



The Auslan interpreter in the facial expressions are an important part of Australian Sign Language, vital to getting across the true meaning of the message. #signguy has a name! It’s Mark Cave. He’s 30 years old and has been working as an Australian sign language interpreter for 12 years... Read More.

Cyclone Marcia leaves multimillion-dollar damage:



Central Queensland resembles a war zone and now faces a multibillion-dollar repair bill after Cyclone Marcia tore through the Rockhampton region, destroying or unroofing hundreds of homes and causing large-scale infrastructure damage.



Homes were blasted apart by the force of the Category 5 cyclone which smashed into the Capricorn Coast packing wind gusts close to 300km/h.



Terrified residents who opted not to evacuate cowered in their homes as the ferocious winds peeled off roofs, blew out windows and sent large trees spearing through walls.



Hilltop houses around Vaughan and John streets in Yeppoon copped the full brunt, with one completely destroyed and several unroofed... Read More at Courier Mail.



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