Hearing Loss Awareness Month Events

From a RICDHH email

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May 11th, 10am - 11:30am (FREE!)Rhode Island Parent Information Network will host a support group meeting for families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing at 1210 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920. Child care and sign language interpreter available upon request. For more information: Email Tara Townsend, Family Support Coordinator at townsend@ripin.org or 401-270-0101 ext. 139.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 14th, 9am Rhode Island Deaf Senior Citizens' May Breakfast and Mother's Day Bingo at 529 Plainfield Street, Providence, RI. Breakfast starts at 9am (when doors open) and Bingo starts at 10am. Admission reservation deadline is May 10th. For information: call Diane 401-404-4892 VP or Carole 401-354-7511 VP.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 16th, 11am - 3:30pm (FREE!)The Hearing Loss Awareness EXPO I will be held at the Department of Administration Building, Atrium, 1st Floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI. The EXPO will have more than 20 exhibitors to share beneficial information and resources with people who have hearing loss. Everyone is welcome to come and see what's new! ASL Interpreter will be provided. For more information, contact Pamela Zellner at 401-256-5511 or email: pamela.zellner@cdhh.ri.gov.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 16th, 2pm - 4pm (FREE!)Rhode Island Speech-Language-Hearing Association (RISHA) will celebrate Annual Better Hearing and Speech Month by having a display event at the Rhode Island State House, 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI. For more information, please contact RISHA President, Ellen Connery at Ellenconnery@verizon.net or visit RISHA's website.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 16th, 6pm - 8pm (FREE!)TV and Internet Captioning for People with Hearing Loss presentation will be given by Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy,Hearing Loss Association of America. The presentation will be held during the Hearing Loss Awareness EXPO II (more than 20 exhibits in Atrium) at the Department of Administration Building, Conference Room A, 2nd Floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI. ASL Interpreter and CART will be provided. For more information, contact Pamela Zellner at 401-256-5511 or email:pamela.zellner@cdhh.ri.gov.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 19th, 1pm - 3pm (FREE!)Storytelling and activities for children who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held at the Providence Children's Museum, 100 South Street, Providence, RI 02903. There will be exhibitor tables so parents can become familiar with the resources that are available in Rhode Island. For more information, contact Cathy Saunders at saunders@childrensmuseum.org.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 21st, 7:45am - 4:30pmRhode Island Hearing Assessment Program will host 19th Annual Seminar, "Creating Positive Environments for Children with Hearing Loss" at Crowne Plaza at the Crossing, 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI. ASL Interpreters and CART will be provided. For information: Tunisia Johnson, 401-277-3607 or email: tejohnson@wihri.org or Kathi Flanagan, 401-277-3738 or email: kflanagan@wihri.org or visit RIHAP's website.
Download the brochure - please click hereDownload the registration form - please click here

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May 22nd, 6pm - 9pm (FREE!)RICDHH Public Meeting will be held at the Department of Administration Building, Conference Room A, 2nd Floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI. The meeting is open for public. ASL Interpreters and CART will be provided. For more information, contact Pamela Zellner at 401-256-5511 or email: pamela.zellner@cdhh.ri.gov.
Download the flyer - please click here

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May 30th, 6pm - 8pm (FREE!)Healthcare Reform Forum for Rhode Islanders who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held at the Department of Administration Building, Conference Room A, 2nd Floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI. Please come and learn more about Afforddable Care Act (ACA), The Patient Protection and Health Benefits Exchange under Healthcare Reform. ASL Interpreters and CART will be provided. For more information, contact Pamela Zellner at 401-256-5511 or email: pamela.zellner@cdhh.ri.gov.
Download the flyer - please click here

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June Social Event!

Next Meeting:  June 8th - 1:00 PM

                               (Rain date: June 22nd.)

Event:  June’s Social event: Mini Golf and Ice cream

Where:  

Mulligan's Island presents (2) two - 18 Hole Mini-Golf Courses that are spectacular Fun for people of all ages.Both our Red and Blue Mini-Golf courses are themed to make the players feel like they have landed on a Volcanic Island.Mulligan's Island Mini-Golf features a WRECKED PIRATE SHIP and a REAL VOLCANO. The Volcano has cool, refreshing water cascading down one side, and an amazing 25 foot fireball going off from the top of it. It is spectacular, powerful and amazing! All this energy, fun and excitement will keep players wondering, what’s next!

Flowing rivers, dramatic landscaping, and gorgeous scenery evolve around
each mini-golf course, helping to create the wonderful culture and atmosphere
that makes Mulligan's Island the most unique and special golf & entertainment center anywhere.       It has to be seen to be believed.

Mini-Golf:  Adults - $10.00 and Children (10 years old and younger) - $8.00

Mulligan's Island Golf & Entertainment Center
1000 New London Ave.
Cranston, RI 02920

From Interstate 95 North or South: Take Exit 14 (Rt. 37 West)
From Interstate 295 North or South: Take Exit 3A (Rt. 37 East) from Rt. 37 Take Exit 2A (New London Avenue exit)    At First Stop Light, Take Left Onto Howard Ave. In 100 Ft. Take First Right onto Mulligan's Island Drive

After the mini golf, we will go for ice cream at Newport Creamery in Garden City.  For those who do not want to play at Mulligan’s can join us for ice cream about 2:00-3:00. Or join us at Mulligan’s by cheering us on in the gallery!

http://www.newportcreamery.com/icecream.asp -Ice cream menu

May 16th Presentation

As part of the Better Hearing Speech Month, there will be a very important presentation on TV and Internet Captioning . There are changes with thanks to the 21th Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act that was signed into law by President Obama in October of 2010. 

This act:

Among other things, the Act (1) extends closed captioning requirements to video programming distributed on the Internet; (2) reinstates the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) video description regulations; and (3) requires customer digital equipment, including navigation devices (in particular, cable set-top boxes), to accommodate accessibility features for closed captioning, video description, emergency information, user interfaces, and video guides and menus.
The Act phases in these various requirements after an Advisory Committee submits its recommendations to the FCC, and the FCC adopts regulations to implement the recommendations and the requirements of the Act

 

Lise Hamlin who is the Policy Director for the Hearing Loss Association of America based in Bethesda Maryland will be giving the presentation. She is very knowledgeable and will be able to answer questions you may regarding any aspect of this very important act as it provides accessibility for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

 

It will be held at the Department of Administration Building, One Capitol Hill, Providence  from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in Conference Room A .

 

Attached is the flyer of this event. This presentation is highly recommended for you to attend.

Click Picture to Enlarge

Meeting Announcement!

Next Meeting: Saturday April 20 2013 10:00 AM- 12:00 Noon

                                                                (Please note time change)

Where: Warwick Public Library, Sandy Lane, Warwick, RI

Topic:  What Do You Want to Know about Cell Phones?

Speaker:  James Litvack-Self –Made Guru of Assistive Technology

The next meeting will be a presentation on cell phones. It will include the following:

1. Brief history of cell phone / pagers for those with hearing loss
2. Ways Smart Phones can help (relaying, texting, captions)
3. Information about which companies offer discounts and data- only plans and

    how to obtain desired plans.
4. Questions and thoughts from the audience

So bring your questions and thoughts as there will be an opportunity for an interactive discussion.

There will be CART.

Email List and Meeting Announcement

The first is that we are changing the email address from Cthom27062@aol.com to HLARhodeIsland@aol.com 

And if you wish to be on the elist. Please Reply to all so that your email address will be added toHLARhodeIsland@aol.com for future announcements and meetings.

After this email, future emails will be coming from HLARhodeIsland@aol.com   So please respond to this email if you want to be added to the new address.

The second reminder is:

Next Meeting: Saturday March 30 2013  2:00 PM-4:00 PM

Where: Warwick Public Library, Sandy Lane, Warwick, RI

Topics:  Informal Discussion of Sharing your Experiences as a Person with Hearing loss

The next meeting will be an informal discussion where the participants will share their experiences or frustrations in dealing with hearing loss. People may be able to offer suggestions and solutions to your frustrations.

There will be no speaker; however Beth Wilson will help to facilitate the discussion so everyone will have a chance to share their experiences.

So bring your questions and thoughts as this will be an interactive discussion.

There will be CART.

Emergency Alerts for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

NPR Labs to Test Emergency Alerts for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Feb 26, 2013 10:01 AM

 Washington, DC - Feb 22, 2013 - NPR Labs has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to demonstrate the delivery of emergency alerts to people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the Gulf Coast states through local public radio stations and the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS). This is the first effort to deliver real-time accessibility-targeted emergency messages, such as weather alerts, via radio broadcast texts.

This pilot system is intended to demonstrate that all individuals, including those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, can rely on battery-powered radios to stay informed in emergencies when electricity, Internet and other communications channels are unavailable.

NPR Labs, the technology research and development group of NPR, will work with the DHS and FEMA to identify 25 public radio stations in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to participate in the pilot. The distribution network of the Public Radio Satellite System will be used to test the effectiveness of the message delivery system. The Gulf region was chosen because it is frequently subjected to extreme and sudden weather conditions. Once proven, the system could be rolled out nationwide on the public radio stations served by the PRSS, which reach 95 percent of the U.S. population.

"As we work to promote disaster preparedness and awareness, it is important we remember to equip every member of our communities," Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-MS) stated. "This valuable partnership with Mississippi's local public radio stations promises to expand the reach of our disaster alert systems, and I can think of no better place to conduct this trial than the Gulf Coast."

"NPR Labs has developed expertise in making radio broadcasts available and accessible to everyone," said NPR Labs Vice President and Executive Director Mike Starling. "We believe this system can be a life-saver for those unable to hear emergency alerts today."

In the demonstration project, FEMA will transmit emergency alert messages to the PRSS using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The PRSS network operations center will re-transmit the warning via the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) on the participating 25 public radio stations on a dedicated digital alerting channel. The stations will broadcast the emergency alert to receivers capable of displaying text messages. Deaf or hard-of-hearing project volunteers will be alerted to the message by a flashing indicator on their radios or a bed-shaker triggered by their radios, to ensure the message is received day and night.
NPR Labs plans to identify 500 individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the listening areas of the 25 participating stations. The volunteers will be surveyed periodically to determine the efficacy of the warnings.

- See more at: http://radiomagonline.com/currents/news/npr_labs_to_test_emergency_alerts_for_deaf_and_hard_of_hearing_0226/#sthash.fkurMMm3.dpuf

March Meeting

 

 

Next Meeting: Saturday March 30   2:00 PM-4:00 PM

Where: Warwick Public Library, Sandy Lane, Warwick, RI

Topics:  Informal Discussion of Sharing your Experiences as a Person with Hearing loss

The next meeting will be an informal discussion where the participants will share their experiences or frustrations in dealing with hearing loss. People may be able to offer suggestions and solutions to your frustrations.

There will be no speaker; however Beth Wilson will help to facilitate the discussion so everyone will have a chance to share their experiences.

So bring your questions  and thoughts as this will be an interactive discussion.

There will be CART.