We welcome submissions of artwork by Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. If you would like your art to be considered, e-mail JesseL (at) dhhsc.org with “Art Submission for The Deaf Bee” as Subject heading and paste the image in the e-mail. Please confirm in the e-mail that you are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Thank you! Today’s featured art is by Hiro Lerman: Continue reading Guest Artist: Hiro Lerman
By Shelley Stout, Client Services Specialist Hello, as one of the three Valley Deaf Festival chairpersons and booth coordinator, and I would like to share an important announcement regarding this year’s Valley Deaf Festival (VDF). In January, we announced that our 31st Annual Valley Deaf Festival would be hosted on November 14, 2020. However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, we had to make the difficult decision of postponing it to next year, November 2021. The reasons for the postponement include: We care for our community, and everyone’s health and safety is a priority. We want to protect our community … Continue reading Postponement of Valley Deaf Festival
By Alexander Sanborn, Public Relations Specialist It’s that time of the year…(drumroll)…Community Comments 2019! This year’s Community Comments event will be Saturday, August 10, 2019. You, as part of our community, can express your concerns, questions, and thoughts to the DHHSC Board of Directors at the DHHSC Fresno Headquarters. What issues do you want us staff at DHHSC to focus on? Events to host? More services? Needs you have identified that you would like us to address? Come to Community Comments to be seen and heard! Your voice and/or your signs will be heard, without a doubt. Stay strong and … Continue reading Community Comments 2019
By C.C. Ryder Recently I was tasked with making sure that the staff at DHHSC had all gotten their insurance cards. One of the staff members jokingly responded by saying they hadn’t received their Deaf Card. I immediately got online to find a Deaf Card to accommodate this staff member knowing that they wouldn’t expect me to actually find one, much less send it. After we had a great laugh, I added that the card itself wasn’t hard to find – it was just a matter of which one. In all seriousness and to my amazement, there was quite a … Continue reading Deaf Cards
By Alexander Sanborn, Public Relations /Outreach Specialist New staff. The departure of one longtime staff. New additions to the Board of Directors, to replace exiting members and to expand the Board. And more . . . all during the year of 2018. How will these changes affect us? What will 2019 bring? DHHSC anticipates new adventures. Let’s stop for a moment. Before going any further, let’s take a moment to review 2018: Four new hires (one in South Valley Outreach, one in Merced Outreach, and two in the Fresno Headquarters) The departure of Cheryl Parreira, Merced Coordinator of … Continue reading New Beginnings: Reviewing 2018 & What to Expect in 2019
Discovering Agriculture Through STEM (DATS) was a free summer program for college bound deaf and hard-of-hearing students who live in California and are entering grades 10-12 in Fall of 2018. Below is an account from one of our local Deaf Community members who attended. By Courtney Bronson, DATS camp was wonderful, with amazing staff, awesome campers, and exciting activities. I tend to become restless when I sit down for a certain period of time, but all of the activities kept me busy, such as making s’mores without a fire (we used an old pizza box, foil, and plastic), building a solar panel … Continue reading DATS CAMP
By C.C. Ryder Everyone needs a mentor or a hero to look up to, especially as a child. Children need someone to emulate or be inspired by in setting personal and/or professional goals. These mentors or heroes represent or illustrate what dreams and goals are possible and demonstrate how they overcame their challenges to become successful. But, what happens if a child does not identify with existing mentors and heroes? Children tend to emulate individuals like them, so it is important to find inspiring individuals who are similar to the child, whether in background, ethnicity, culture, language, or identity, or … Continue reading DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING HEROES
V Town Roller Derby invited our South Valley Outreach Office to have a booth at their Roller Derby. At first, I thought it was for informational purposes but was surprised to learn it was for a fundraiser. They support different charities and had selected Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center (DHHSC) to be their designated nonprofit organization for spring 2018. I was delighted! I also thought the fundraising event was only for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community but was thrilled to see that it was open to the public, for anyone wanting to support both V Town … Continue reading V Town Roller Derby
by C.C. Ryder To better understand what is meant by multicultural and multiethnicity, a definition of each word is warranted. Multiethnicity is a person’s genetic and biological background. Multiculturalism is when people of different backgrounds get together to celebrate and share the traditions of their heritage, such as beliefs and traditions. Deaf culture is unique in that it encompasses both multiethnic and multicultural aspects of humanity. In order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation among people in today’s world, one must first be able to respect another’s cultural and ethnic background. History teaches us that society has had many struggles with … Continue reading Deaf Culture is both Multicultural and Multiethnic
By Sharon Renee McPherson Jr. Clark and Stefani Santos, Staff Interpreters
A staggering amount of Deaf-Blind individuals remain isolated and hesitate to leave the places they are most comfortable. One key factor of this is fear. A crippling fear there will be little, or even worse, no communication. According to American Association of the Deaf-Blind, “Individuals who are deaf-blind, continue to face significant social, economic, educational and psychological barriers. The lack of available services and resources is often an obstacle to achieving self-sufficiency for individuals who are deaf-blind.” For these very reasons, throughout 2015 Fresno Deaf-Blind community and their advocates have continued to promote alliance, decrease isolation and spread awareness through a variety of exciting avenues. Continue reading “2016: Fresno Deaf-Blind Needs You!”
The Deaf Bee 