Deaf News: Deaf, blind encounter higher barriers to addiction treatment at the Massachusetts State House.
BOSTON, MA -- Marie Hoffmeister said she has been searching for weeks for a detox unit or substance abuse treatment facility that will help her overcome addiction and become sober. But there’s been one major roadblock in her attempts to seek help: Hoffmeister is Deaf-Blind.
“I’ve struggled and fought for weeks and weeks, and they said, ‘Well we can’t serve you, we can’t find interpreters for you, you won’t have communication access,’ and it’s been extremely frustrating,” Hoffmeister told the News Service through an interpreter. “It’s time to change, it has to be time to change. People want to come back from this, but they can’t. There’s nowhere for them to go because there’s no communication access.”
Hoffmeister was among hundreds of people who gathered on Boston Common on Wednesday to raise awareness and increase political pressure to address the needs of Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing individuals. Wednesday’s event, sponsored by the Deaf Grassroots Movement of Massachusetts, is part of a national effort to bring attention to issues in the Deaf community.
The DGM aims to fight for the rights of the Deaf and future generations in the Deaf community in all 50 states. On Wednesday all 50 state capitols will have a rally for Deaf Rights, including Boston, Massachusetts.
Hoffmeister said she’s been working with Tabatha Patrican, a Deaf woman who has been in recovery for more than a year, to try to find a treatment facility that can meet her needs.
“For three weeks we’ve gone through interviews, the paperwork process, what if she died tomorrow? The state would be responsible for her death if that were to happen,” Patrican said through an interpreter. “We need to have money provided for halfway houses, for trainers, for interpreters. They need to understand we’re at risk, we’re in danger, we need support, we need guidelines for this.”
The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) said that it spends approximately $350,000 annually to ensure individuals have access to meetings, day treatment, and other services with American Sign Language interpreters or Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) support.
“We have partnered with the Department of Public Health to bolster our efforts for opioid-related supports and will continue to work to make sure there is equal access … for every individual who is seeking treatment,” Aurora Wilber, spokesperson for MCDHH, said in a statement. “We are also pursuing initiatives in five key areas aimed at improving coordination of treatment, increasing technology to aid in communication, education and training programs in response to our population’s needs.”
During fiscal 2015, MCDHH provided 6,389 hours of ASL interpreting and CART services in substance abuse settings in response to 3,427 service requests, the commission said. The commission is also implementing a program to train Deaf peer supports to use Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
Patrican said detox centers have told her they don’t accept Deaf or Deaf-Blind patients and even walking into facilities asking for help has not worked. When an addict is ready to get help, Patrican said, it’s imperative that treatment starts quickly, before the addict could change their mind and continue to use.
“Hearing people can walk in and immediately have services, but for Deaf people there is always a delay,” Patrican said. “I’ve lost two Deaf people from drugs. And they died because there was no treatment available to them.”
Eveleen Cunningham, a licensed alcohol and substance abuse counselor who has been in recovery for more than 30 years, said there is a high rate of relapse among Deaf individuals in recovery because they don’t have complete access to the same kinds of treatment and support programs that hearing individuals have.
Despite Beacon Hill’s laser-like focus on the opioid epidemic, Cunningham said the Deaf community has largely been forgotten because “there isn’t enough advocacy to increase services and there isn’t a focus on addressing Deaf services for people who are in recovery.”
“Gov. (Charlie) Baker has funded a lot for opioid treatment and addiction recovery, but nothing specifically for Deaf individuals that would be available around the clock,” Cunningham said through an interpreter. “We need funding, we need treatment options that focus on the continuum of services for substance abuse, including 12-step programs adapted for Deaf individuals so they can understand and access it.”
In the mid-1980s, Cunningham, who is Deaf, sought help for her own addiction. She said she had to fight to get into a treatment program and then had to teach the counselors there some rudimentary sign language so they could work with her. Since then, she has worked with and mentored deaf individuals starting their own recovery.
“The system has improved a little bit since my time, but not significantly,” Cunningham said. “There’s all kinds of treatment centers in Massachusetts, but if a Deaf person shows up when they’re ready to accept treatment, it’s never available on demand like it is for hearing individuals.” Copyright 2016 State House News Service.
SOURCE - WWLP
Follow @DeafGrassrootsMovement:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/events/deafgrassrootsmovement
Website - http://www.tdgm2015.org
Deaf Grassroots Movement Hastags:
Facebook - https://facebook.com/hashtag/dgm
Instagram - https://instagram.com/explore/tags/dgm
Twitter - https://twitter.com/hashtag/dgm
Related Deaf Protest:
Deaf Grassroots Movement - National Deaf Rally
Deaf Grassroots Movement Nationwide Rally
Deaf Alaskans Rally For Equality In Anchorage
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Alabama Capitol
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Oklahoma Capitol
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Nebraska Capitol
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Maine State Capitol
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Florida State Capitol
Deaf Grassroots Movement Rally at RI State House
Deaf Grassroots Movement at Idaho State House
Deaf Advocates at the North Dakota State Capitol
Deaf Advocates at the Massachusetts State House
Deaf Rallies at the Connecticut State Capitol
Deaf Protest at White House in Washington DC
Deaf Protest At The White House 2015 Live Video
Deaf Power Of India: Fight For Your Rights!
Featured Post
Do not make the work of Deaf YouVideo content look like your own. Give credit where it is due and requires that articles be based on reliable published sources.
Posts Archive
Most Viewed Last 7 Days
-
Why are annoying Jehovah's Witnesses door knockers so disrespectful to Deaf people, the community around the globe. This blog actuall...
-
The Biblical of Deafness "I Cannot Hear" by John Conrad Ruppel. The Bible verses about " Deafness ." John Ruppel of...
-
This is a short glimpse into the lives of some of Thailand's Deaf working girls in Bangkok. Anyone had experience with Deaf women in...
-
Play Free Creepy and Scary Game: Sinthai's The Halloween. Here comes a brand new scary game from the creator of the popular game The ...
-
Deaf News: Michael Hubbs is a con artist, claims his former pastor who turned atheist. Michael (Mike) Hubbs is a con artist in the Deaf ...
-
Full documentary in the role model of female bodybuilders, Shelley Beattie, ‘Deaf Woman BodyBuilder’ Deaf Mosaic exclusive interview cov...
-
Deaf cats tormented, cruel laboratory experiments and killed in University for the cochlear/hearing implant industry. Warning: Graphic Co...
Most Viewed Last 30 Days
-
Why are annoying Jehovah's Witnesses door knockers so disrespectful to Deaf people, the community around the globe. This blog actuall...
-
The Biblical of Deafness "I Cannot Hear" by John Conrad Ruppel. The Bible verses about " Deafness ." John Ruppel of...
-
Prank and Spank, Annette and Scott Kerr has announced that possibly leaving YouTube. The tubers entertaining Deaf couple Annette and Sco...
-
Parental guidance is advised, The content may contain R-rated material, nudity and profanity not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. ...
-
This is a short glimpse into the lives of some of Thailand's Deaf working girls in Bangkok. Anyone had experience with Deaf women in...
-
Deaf vlogger WonderGent aka James Timothy "Tim" Troutman arrested for possession of child pornography. DALE CITY, Virginia -- A ...
-
An Omaha girl died of bacterial meningitis over the weekend after deteriorating very quickly. OMAHA, Nebraska -- Katie Engle, 7, was a se...
Most Viewed Of All Time
-
An Omaha girl died of bacterial meningitis over the weekend after deteriorating very quickly. OMAHA, Nebraska -- Katie Engle, 7, was a se...
-
The U.S. Winter Olympics Deaf Speedskater, Michael W. Hubbs arrested and mugshot for probation violation in Utah. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah --...
-
Democratic Vice President Joe Biden mocking an ASL interpreter. DANVILLE, Virginia -- Vice President of the United States of America Joe B...
-
Parental guidance is advised, The content may contain R-rated material, nudity and profanity not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. ...
-
Jehovah's Witnesses' ASL version "Stop Masturbating" under fire for misleading signs with facial expressions and body lang...
-
Deaf Protest will be held at the White House in Washington the District of Columbia on Sept. 5th and 6th 2015. WASHINGTON -- President Ob...
-
SportsMX - Kitchen Talk: "The Ugly Truth" Interview With Ricky Taylor. The premiere of Kitchen Talk show from SportsMX . This ...
-
The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump - Marlee Matlin and Gilbert Gottfried were incredibly hilarious performances. NEW YORK CITY -- M...
-
Deaf News: Michael W. Hubbs announced that he was hositpalized by stress symptoms. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Michael (Mike) Hubbs of short...
About This Site
Deaf YouVideo is public web site and a free assessment for everyone. A public web site is a web site that you can use to have a presence on the internet. It is a public facing site to attract customers and partners, and it usually includes increase traffic. Feel free to exploring the online community - Deaf, Hearing-Impairment, Hearing-Loss, Sign Language, News, Events, Societies, Resources, Links, Videos, Vloggers and much more. Be sure to Bookmarks this website.
Submitted content, to whom it may concern of posting on this site: YouPrivacy
Submitted content, to whom it may concern of posting on this site: YouPrivacy
Videos and Channels Powered By YouTube
RSS Feed Content
Deaf YouVideo provided by YouTube, Blogger, Google Feedburner, RSS Feed are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content as well beyond just visitors using browsers. The feed icon feeds permit subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader vlogs or blogs and etc. Submitted content and/or disabled by request consume content and will be immediately removed from Deaf YouVideo. If you see the content appears "error, blank, and feed not support", click home or refresh your browsers.
Copyright © 2020 Deaf YouVideo All Rights Reserved.
Deaf YouVideo. Powered by Blogger.