Our May meeting opened with the this quote from Helen Keller
Our speaker was John Clayton from HI Kent, a locally based charity supporting the deaf and hard of hearing in Kent and East Sussex. HI Kent, which stands for Hearing Impaired Kent has been established since 1986 and is a very underfunded charity without Government support. HI Kent was awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary service which they are extremely proud of.
Some of the statistics
- 1in 5 people are either deaf or hard of hearing in those over 50
- 1 in 10 people suffer Tinnitus
- HI Kent have helped over 6500 people
- 248 support clinics are run where NHS aids can be cleaned
- 8 support groups in Kent, Ashford and Dover nearest
Deafness leaves people feeling isolated and left out, and reluctant to participate in everyday events
HI Kent is supported locally by the Roger de Haan trust which helps them to run courses in sign language and lip reading.
We made a donation to the charity.