Regional Outreach

Deaf people in rural and regional areas have the same needs as their hearing peers. Unfortunately, many Deaf people in rural and regional areas of NSW have many barriers to accessing these services.

The Deaf Society works with local generic and disability agencies to make sure that

• Deaf people can access the services they need
• agencies receive guidance and support to deliver their services effectively to Deaf people

Outreach services are provided for:

• Deaf people and their families, deaf children, their parents and families
• hearing people wanting to learn more about the Deaf community
• government and non-government agencies which need information and consultation on connecting with the local Deaf community and delivering appropriate service to Deaf people

Delivery of services
The outreach service operates in areas of NSW where the Deaf Society does not have a permanent office. The Deaf Society of NSW provides its community services - social, individual, family and information services - with a mixture of visiting and video-link services. We run outreach by touring twice a year to various regions and running a web-based video-link service called DeafNet.

On rural and regional visits, Deaf Society staff can:

• run Deafness Awareness sessions
• present seminars on working effectively with interpreters
• help rural and regional services to consult with the local Deaf community

We also arrange special interest seminars and social events with local Deaf people.

DeafNet uses a laptop with a webcam and dedicated broadband internet connection located in the local host service to connect local Deaf people seeking information, referral and support with staff in the Deaf Society's head office in Sydney.

The head office also has secure video remote interpreting services for those times when it isn't possible to book a local or on-site interpreter.

DeafNet video locations
The Deaf Society has DeafNet video-link locations for people who do not have computers in:

• South Coast (eg. Wollongong, Nowra, Bega, Cooma)
• The Central West (e.g. Bathurst, Orange, Wellington, Dubbo)
• Riverina (e.g. Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Albury)