KD Sunday Spotlight: Center for Hearing and Deaf Services help neighbors hear and find their voices
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Since 1921, the Center for Hearing and Deaf Services in Pittsburgh has helped neighbors hear and make their voices heard, so they don't suffer in silence.
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 15-percent of American adults have trouble hearing, and it affects their quality of life.
Each week, Alecia Williams is just overflowing with excitement when she enters the Center For Hearing and Deaf Services.
Not only does she enjoy the activities with life skills coordinator Amy DeLuce, but also, the constant conversations.
"I love socializing, and I love being here," Williams signed. "HDS is like my second family. Everybody here – I love them."
Williams has called HDS her second home since 1985.
She's part of the life skills program which serves clients who are deaf and intellectually disabled.
They improve their academics while building life, social and physical skills.
"I work with all of my peers," Williams signed. "We do art projects. We go to the YMCA. We go on different field trips."
"She's the happiest person I know," said Amy Hart, who is the President and CEO of HDS. "She really is. It's a joy. It's why we get up in the morning -- seeing these folks grow."
Hart said it's crucial for their clients to develop and become part of the community.
"We want everyone to feel as though they are as important as everyone else," said Hart. "We want to get them out in the community and understand that they belong -- that they belong wherever they want to go just like anyone else does."
Hart said HDS is the only one of its kind in the region with a fully ASL-fluent staff.
There are offices in Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and Erie which expands their reach and addresses the increase in clients.
"What we're hearing now is 19-percent of people under 30 have measurable hearing loss," said Hart. "So, we're potentially raising a generation of hard-of-hearing people, and there's a lot of new research just in the last few months that hearing loss leads to isolation and depression and dementia."
To monitor and prevent hearing loss, HDS provides audiology services.
For those who are already deaf or hard of hearing, they have an assistive device center.
In the center, there are several products to keep people safe and independent, such as a caption telephone which Hart said is free for anyone with hearing loss, a flashing doorbell, and a sonic bomb alarm clock to shake people out of bed.
HDS also provides hearing aids.
"When you put those hearing aids in that first person's ears and watch their face change like 'wow' - those little moments are so amazing, and we see so many of them every day," said Hart.
"I can certainly hear better, and it's just given me an open road to something that might be closed for someone my age," said Rita Gesue.
The HDS hearing aid guides Rita Gesue in the right direction and also brings her full circle.
Before Gesue became a client, she worked at the center for decades.
She created the sign language interpreting program, which is now offered in American English and foreign languages.
Gesue was also a huge advocate and pushed local television stations to use closed captioning in the 1980s.
She said KDKA became the first.
"It was very important that they had access to the news, and KDKA stepped up and it was great," said Gesue.
HDS also has a deaf youth program so children can interact with their peers and break barriers.
HDS creates a space for people of all backgrounds to embrace their identity, and realize they matter.
"You are loved, [and] you are cared for," said Hart. "You have a ton of talents and a ton of stuff going for you that we want to see you use. We want everyone in the community to know how cool you are."
The feeling is mutual.
"I love everyone here," Williams signed. "All of the staff here is wonderful. They help me so much. They're like my brother and sister."
A family that helps Alecia and so many others find and amplify their voice.
In 2022, HDS served nearly 6,000 people, and they would like to help more!
The center also has grant programs to help those who can't afford hearing aids, assistive devices, or smoke detectors.
If you're interested in signing up for services or giving back, go to their website at this link.