DeafCAN! Shows That the Deaf Can Do Anything!

The Deaf have often been disenfranchised by the Hearing world. A societal disadvantage has been set against Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals, with roadblocks being thrown in their way time and time again. One West Chester group, DeafCAN!, hopes to change that.

DeafCAN! (Deaf Community Action Network) is based in West Chester, PA's Christ the King Deaf Church, but the program opens itself to all. While they're located at a church, the organisation is non-denominational and provides services to all who seek them out.

An incredible service that they provide is their Refugee and Immigrant Program. On Tuesdays, 4-6:30 p.m.they have FREE weekly classes for English and American Sign Language. Additionally, they assist with other needs such as food, shelter, employment, assistive technology, and financial assistance and management. This program has helped out three individuals now employed by my school West Chester University. They immigrated to the United States from Cambodia and the Phillipines.

Their services aren't just limited to refugees though. DeafCAN! reaches out to Deaf-Blind people, Deaf people in prisons, and Deaf with differing abilities.

They will also help the Deaf oversees. This year they took their fifth-annual trip to Jamaica to donate supplies to the Jamaican School for the Deaf.

As a Deaf Studies minor at West Chester University, I’ve fallen in love with American Sign Language. It’s emotive, fluid, and elegant in a way that simply can’t be attained through verbal communication. This is why it frustrates me that the Deaf are often perceived by the Hearing world as being somehow lesser. They have a different perspective, culture, and identity than an average Hearing person like myself. I write about DeafCAN! both because I truly respect the wonderful work they do and because I feel strongly about the need to try to bridge the two worlds together. Thankfully, DeafCAN! recognizes that as well.

On Sunday, November 5th DeafCAN! will be partnering with West Chester University’s Deaf Studies Program to bring a service showcase for students, faculty, and the entire local community. This event will feature Deaf people of all walks of life accompanied by interpreters to translate their important messages to visitors. At this event will be some of the Deaf that DeafCAN! serves as well as deafness simulation stations, videos, brief American Sign Language lessons, and a variety of other activities.

So, dear reader, I hope that you feel compelled to learn more about this wonderful group. If you can’t attend their event, they can always be reached at Christ the King Deaf Church located at 730 South New Street, West Chester, PA 19382. Their Executive Director Rev. Beth Lockard and her husband and Program Director Bill Lockard would be happy to find increased interest in DeafCAN!

So often when there’s peril in the world we think about what we can’t do. This group highlights the basic truth that is as simple as it is overlooked, there’s so much more that we CAN do.