1st January 2016 will bring about change in the Deaf voluntary sector, as two long-established charities formally come together as one. On that day, Deaf Access, the 21 year old charity which provides services to the deaf and hard of hearing communities of Bromley, London, will be formally transferring its staff, assets and contracts to deafPLUS, the national charity which will be celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2016.
The wider charity will continue to be known as deafPLUS, but its services in Bromley will continue to operate under the Deaf Access name for the next two years.
Gary Williams. Chief Executive of deafPLUS, said:
“We are delighted to be welcoming Deaf Access into the deafPLUS family. Deaf Access provides a very similar range of services to our own, and so it makes good business sense for us to join forces in this way. Together, we will be stronger.”
David Connolly, Company Secretary of Deaf Access, added:
“Deaf Access is a small charity and for economy of scale and to access the necessary expertise to take us forward, the board felt that the best way to maintain Deaf Access as a viable, strong service provider was to seek a merger. We therefore approached DeafPLUS and are pleased that the merger is now taking place.”
David Connolly is a founder of Deaf Access and will be joining the deafPLUS Board with immediate effect.
With Deaf Access added to the picture, deafPLUS will now deliver dedicated services across five London boroughs as well as Somerset, Bath, Hampshire, and Birmingham. The charity also runs a national money advice BSL video helpline and, from 4th January, a Southern Counties Employment BSL video helpline. BSL help-lines are accessed via www.deafplus.org . The charity also runs a pan-London project to support deaf people who are in work.
