A charity with a base just outside York which has helped deaf people regain freedom and conquer isolation, has spoken about how a grant scheme helped.
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has its North of England base in Bielby, just outside York, and was established in 1982.
Since then it has helped countless deaf people to have a sense of independence with the help of a hearing dog.
The charity won a share of the money last year in the Readers’ Choice Cash for Charities grant scheme run by Newsquest.
The Northern Echo spoke with David Robson, head of marketing for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People about how the grant scheme helped and what it enabled the charity to do.
Read more: Cash for Charities grant scheme now open - nominate your favourite charity now
David said: “We train highly-skilled assistance dogs to help deaf people and we also offer a range of personalised services that help anyone with any level of hearing loss. Our dogs are trained to alert people, who can’t hear, to important and life-saving sounds, so that could include; the smoke alarm, the alarm clock every morning, intruder alarms, oven timers, text message alerts and even the sound of a baby crying if you’re a deaf parent.
“The dogs provide a lot of practical support both in and outside of the home in terms of alerting their owners to sounds they would otherwise miss. The dogs also provide a lot of emotional support and companionship and that’s just as important because a lot of people who are deaf often feel socially isolated and lonely because they experience communication barriers which cuts them off from other people so having a dog there to provide constant love and emotional support is really important and can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
David explained that the grant money enabled the charity to continue the great work it does and helped match 20 dogs with people across North Yorkshire last year and provide the all-important support with the partnership.
When the charity matches someone with a dog, ongoing support is provided for the duration of that partnership, which could be anywhere between 10-15 years.
Read more: Cash for Charities - If U Care Share one of vital services Echo scheme supported
Hearing dogs tend to retire around the age of 11 but Hearing Dogs for Deaf People provides support for the dog’s ‘working career’ which covers the cost of food, grooming, veterinary costs, providing equipment such as leads and collars and hearing dogs’ jackets that they wear when out in public.
The charity also has partnership instructors who give ongoing support and aid with training and welfare advice. This ‘human support’ also includes house calls and Zoom/Skype calls.
If you would like to nominate a charity for this year’s scheme, simply log-on to www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/readerschoice or click here and fill in your nomination form or you can write to us, confirming the name and address of the charity you’d like to nominate and why to: Readers’ Choice Cash For Charity Nominations, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF by the closing date of Sunday, September 11 2022.
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