RNID
AND CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAUX
IMPROVED
SERVICES FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING IN THE CRAIGAVON
DISTRICT
A new initiative designed to have a huge impact on the lives
of local deaf and hard of hearing people – one in seven of the
population – has been launched in the Craigavon District.
The initiative, a partnership between RNID and Citizens Advice
has created a specialist advice service for deaf and hard of hearing
people in the Craigavon District. The centre will have links to
Health and Social Service Trusts, plus other Citizens Advice Bureaux
in the region, to give the best possible service over a wide geographical
area.
It will employ a full
time adviser specialising in issues directly affecting deaf
and hard of hearing people, and equipment
such as portable loops, crystal listeners and text-phones.
Additional communication support such as British Sign Language
(BSL) interpreters
will be available when needed, and advisers will make
home visits to those with restricted mobility.
Derek Alcorn, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice says, “This
partnership with RNID has enabled us to create specialist
advice services for the deaf community that benefit from
the expertise
and dual input of both RNID and Citizens Advice. We see this
as an important part of our work in extending equality of
access to
CAB advice services in Northern Ireland.”
Brian Symington, Director of RNID in Northern Ireland,
says:
“Accessible
Citizens Advice Bureaux are good news for the deaf and hard
of hearing community. They mean that more people will be
able to know
and understand their rights on issues such as benefits, housing
and employment. With the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
coming into full force in September 2004 there are lots of
changes that
deaf and hard of hearing people need to be aware of.”
Contact details for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Lurgan:
Tel: 028 3832 3571
Fax: 028
3834 7219
• Enhanced
service provision for the deaf and hard of hearing has been
made possible in two Citizens Advice
Bureaux in Craigavon
and Londonderry due to funding received under the EU Building
Sustainable Prosperity programme (BSP) Measure
3.2 which is administered by
the Dept for Social Development (DSD). EU BSP addresses development
priorities, which are commonplace throughout the less prosperous
regions of the European Community. It plays a key role in
the transition to a more peaceful, stable,
prosperous, fair and outward looking
society, sustained by a better physical environment.
• Advisers at the Lurgan bureau already provide generalist advice
and advocacy services to the public, but deaf and hard of hearing
people can now expect to receive an enhanced range of services
provided by CAB as a result of this development. A CAB service
for deaf and hard of hearing people exists in the form of an outreach
session in Belfast, a half day each week. There are also two hour
slots in Bangor specifically aimed to help deaf and hard of hearing
people. The success of these schemes has led to an extension of
the services above.
• Citizens Advice is the largest
advice charity in Northern Ireland delivering advice to some
200,000 people
a year from a
network of 28 offices and 109 other outlets. The agency has
a modern integrated IT network linking all its offices to
provide up-to-date
electronic information to the public.
RNID is the largest
charity representing the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing
people in the
UK.
Telephone: 0808 808 0123
Textphone: 0808 808 9000
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