Deaf Communities & Community Development Issues
Deaf people have always actively sought out the company of other Deaf people. It is easier to communicate with each other using a common sign language. From this, a community with common cultural values evolves. Often the Deaf community begins to establish around Deaf schools. Even in times when sign language was banned in schools, sign language was often still used by Deaf children communicating to each other in corners of the school playground.
Deaf adults still seek out the company of other Deaf adults for social interaction and recreation. After a full week of working in a predominately hearing world (where it is often tiring and frustrating dealing with communication barriers every day with their hearing colleagues), Deaf people socialise with other Deaf people for the ease of communication.
Some oral deaf people who attended an oral deaf school do develop a sense of community, however oral deaf people who are mainstreamed, who do not use sign language nor identify themselves as culturally Deaf often lead adult lives without a sense of ‘community’ that culturally Deaf people enjoy.
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[Edit]1 School based communities
In most place, Deaf communities grow up around Deaf schools. Even where the outside community is not influenced by the Deaf school, those who knew each other at the school often maintain lifelong friendships, creating a diaspora type community.
In Australia’s past, there were many Deaf schools. Deaf children were sent to Deaf boarding schools, such as St. Gabriel's School for Deaf Boys in Castle Hill (Sydney), Waratah Girl’s Catholic School (Newcastle) and St Mary’s School (Portsea), as well as state schools such as Dutton Park State School (Brisbane). Nowadays there are few Australian Deaf schools. Most Deaf children are now integrated into 'hearing' schools with a hearing-impaired or special education unit.
In Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, unintentionally but with good consequences, a Deaf community has evolved around the Claremont Primary and High Schools (home of the Claremont Bilingual/Bicultural Project for around 20 years). The Tasmanian Association of the Deaf has an office nearby this school. As a by-product of the presence of Deaf people in the suburb of Claremont, some of the staff in the local shops have learnt some signs to communicate with their Deaf customers.
[Edit]2 Naturally occurring Deaf communities
The most famous Deaf community is the Martha's Vineyard of long ago. This tiny island off the coast of Massachusetts was home to a predominately Deaf community. A genetic deafness was introduced, and due to the isolated nature of the community, many of the inhabitants were inter-related. Over generations the deafness spread throughout the community. For years the island folk, both hearing and deaf, communicated to each other in American Sign Language (ASL).
[Edit]3 Intentional Communities
While the Martha’s Vineyard community occurred naturally , there is a trend by Deaf populations world-wide to develop communities primarily for Deaf people and those who know sign language to live, work and play together. One example is the planned township of Laurent, South Dakota (named after Laurent Clerc, a French teacher of the Deaf who taught Thomas Gallaudet French Sign Language). This township plan is the work of Marvin Miller, Chief Operating Officer and M.E Barwacz, Chief Executive Officer and can be viewed at www.laurentsd.com .
There is also a development in Los Angeles to create a Deaf Village in one of the L.A.'s suburbs, to support Deaf owned and run business, Deaf housing and a Deaf Performing Arts Centre.
[Edit]4 Community Development
Jim Cavaye
(http://www.communitydevelopment.com.au/Documents/Understanding%20Community%20Development.pdf) ( pdf link) defines community development as follows:
- [C]ommunity development is a process conducted by community members. It is a process where local people can not only create more jobs, income and infrastructure, but also help their community become fundamentally better able to manage change.
- The "concrete" benefits of community development, such as employment and infrastructure, come through local people changing attitudes, mobilising existing skills, improving networks, thinking differently about problems, and using community assets in new ways. Community development improves the situation of a community, not just economically, but also as a strong functioning community in itself.
- [C]ommunity development builds the five capitals of a community - physical, financial, human, social and environmental. It is through participation in their community that people rethink problems and expand contacts and networks; building social capital. They learn new skills, building human capital. They develop new economic options, building physical and financial capital. They also can improve their environment.
In a diaspora, community is particularly difficult to maintain. In the past the Deaf community was limited in how it could stay in touch - Friday night Deaf Club is a common phenomenon in many places, as it was the only place the Deaf would know that they could catch up with each other. Ironically, now as technology means keeping in touch is much simpler, many Deaf are complaining about the dropping attendance at Deaf clubs and events. Perhaps it is that we can now send a text message to ask simple questions, use video relay to communicate in our first language, and use online chat and video for conversations. Perhaps it is the growing effectiveness of hearing aids and technologies, that in effect cause the numbers of functionally deaf people to drop by raising those with a lessor hearing loss to access the spoken word more effectively.
In any case, it is perhaps a phenomenon worth investigating.
[Edit]5 More Information
Deaf Culture (http://www.deafhub.com/index.php?id=1065)
[Edit]6 External links
Cavaye Community Development Publications (http://www.communitydevelopment.com.au/publications.htm)
[Edit]7 Further reading
Cavaye, J., Understanding Community Development (http://www.communitydevelopment.com.au/Documents/Understanding%20Community%20Development.pdf) (pdf file), last accessed 16 February, 2008
