About Us

To Empower Our Deaf Community.  

We support our community through providing free access to advice, information, support, and guidance through our Deaf Space service.  Our Deaf Space drop-in service is a life line to service users needing support and advice to tackle everyday issues and overcome barriers to access. By supporting service users to access services with assistance from a volunteer and an interpreter, we help individuals gain confidence in their ability to manage day to day challenges. From navigating the Benefit System to booking overseas travel, we have supported members to take control in all areas of their lives.  

To Reduce Social Isolation.  

We support our community to overcome the social isolation which many Deaf people face. Whether this is through being the only deaf person in a hearing household, not having peer support and a sense of community, or not having support at work, most of our service users have told us that they have felt isolated daily. This is supported by evidence that the rate of poor mental health is significantly higher in the Deaf community than in the hearing community. By arranging regular social activities, we can support improved mental wellbeing and strengthen our community. 

Improve Deaf Awareness.  

Our community still faces barriers and ignorance in everyday situations. We work with organisations from Police and Fire services and the NHS to schools and private businesses to improve Deaf Awareness through training and information sharing. We support our Hearing Allies to become more inclusive and help them find ways to ensure our deaf community can participate equally in everyday life.  

Break Down Barriers.  

We work with hearing families of deaf children and young adults to support them to integrate into the Deaf Community, whilst also supporting our Deaf community to feel confident in their interactions with the hearing community, and to feel empowered in their communications. By bringing hearing and deaf communities together in this way, we are having a positive impact in Bedford, helping to promote inclusion and understanding. 

Skills and Education. 

Through the delivery of BSL courses, workshops and qualifications, we create opportunities for members of our community to gain teaching skills and experience, and support them to become independent tutors.  We have admin and marketing roles within the charity which are open to volunteers to gain supported experience, and we are proud to fund members of our team to undertake a range of courses from Safeguarding to Food Safety and Advice and Information Services.