Tower Hamlets

Information and Advice

We provide one to one confidential Information & Advice services across England. 

The Information & Advice support we offer includes, but is not limited to: 

• Welfare Benefits 
• Housing 
• Debt 
• Employment 
• Consumer and community care 
• Access to council services 
• Advice on access to legal services 

You can also visit our digital hub to get information on various topics.  If you can’t get to one of our branches, book an appointment on our video BSL Advice Line.

Independent Advocacy

What is Advocacy? 

Advocacy can support you to speak out, or speak out on your behalf, to ensure your views are heard and represented. 
deafPLUS’ confidential Independent Advocacy Service works with individuals to: 

• Speak up for themselves 
• Understand their rights 
• Make informed decisions 
• Understand the consequences of their actions 
• Know the right questions to ask 
• Make a complaint 
• Feel confident and have greater control of their lives 
• Access information and services 
• Providing advocacy support at meetings with other agencies  

Who can access our service? 
We will seek funding from your Local Authority or NHS to receive an Independent Advocacy Service from us. Our service is available to Deaf and hard of hearing people aged 16 or over who need an advocate to provide support with social services, NHS, court, prison service or if you have mental health issues and need support. 

Why might I need Advocacy? 
During a period of mental ill health it can be difficult to deal with issues that would usually be easy. For example, it can feel difficult and sometimes, intimidating, meeting with doctors, social workers, housing officers, solicitors or other service providers. 

What can my Advocacy Worker do? 

• Help you to be at the centre of your care and treatment. 
• Support and help you to put your views across at mental health tribunals and meeting with other professionals. 
• Get you the information you need in a way you can understand. This will ensure you are fully informed, understand your rights and are aware of your options/choices. 
• Put you in touch with other organisations and sources of support & advice.  

Independent 
We are independent. Our only loyalty is to our service users. We stand alongside you and put you first.  We are not part of National Health Service, the local authority or any other service providers. 

What will my Advocacy Worker do? 

• Contact you, as soon as they can, by email or text message. 
• Talk to you to see if they can help you and, if so, arrange to meet you. 
• Talk to you in person to get a full picture of the issues you have. 
• Agree with you how Advocacy Service can help and what to expect from us. 
• Ensure you know how to tell us your views about the service we’ve given you. 

PA Community Support Service

A one-to-one support service for deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind people 

deafPLUS and Action Deafness work in partnership to provide Personal Assistants (PA’s), who support and develop service users’ skills to enable them to live independently in the community, to access a variety of services, including our own community activities and to build friendships.  

deafPLUS is part of the YOUchoose consortium, which includes several deaf organisations across the country, who provide one-to-one support to Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people. YOUchoose is led by Action Deafness Community, a registered Care Quality Commission provider.   

Service users can apply for referrals directly. Family or friends, members of the NHS Services, Social Services or anyone else connected to the service users who has their permission to act on their behalf can also apply. A referral is just the first stage. This will start a conversation before any decision is made, by all involved, if support is agreed.  

If you have any queries about our PA Community Support Service please contact Amelia:

Email: Amelia.Berreen@deafplus.org

Voice: 020 8315 2550  

Skype: Youchoose deafplus

Text: 07521 663987  
Website: www.youchoosesupport.org.uk 

Your Service, the way you want it 

Health, Wellbeing And Social

deafPLUS provides health & wellbeing activities.

Our work tackles health inequalities and social isolation amongst D/deaf and hard of hearing people.  We provide various activities, workshops, training and courses that is available for clients, families and health professionals to crucially improve access for deaf and hard of hearing community.

We provide various type of activities, such as:

• Health workshops
• Family holiday activities
• Coffee mornings
• Deaf Awareness Training for health professionals
• Lipreading classes
• Arts and crafts events
• Befriender support

Look at our Calendar to see what events are on, near you!

BSL Training

British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised by the government as a language in its own right in March 2003. BSL is the first or preferred language of an estimated 70,000 Deaf people in the UK. BSL is a visual-gestural language, with its own grammar and principles, which are completely different from the grammatical structure of English. (Reference Signature.org.uk)

deafPLUS are offering BSL Level 2!

This qualification is designed to enable learners to develop their skills to communicate with Deaf people using British Sign Language (BSL) in a range of everyday situations. The qualification will allow learners to participate in longer and more varied conversations than at Level 1. The course will develop communication in BSL about real life, routine, and daily experiences. The learner will be able to deal with most routine communication and have enough understanding of grammar to cope with some non-routine communication. Learners should be taught a number of regional variations in sign language. (Reference Signature.org.uk)

deafPLUS BSL Level 2

Course Length: 39 weeks.  This course is taught every Thursday, beginning Thursday 5th September 2019 until Thursday 16th July 2020.  
Time: 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Location: Bromley
Fee: £600 + £150 for Signature assessment
Fee (concession): £500 including Signature assessment.

If you are interested in enrolling, or have any other training enquiries, please contact us at training@deafplus.org 

Deaf Awareness Training

Being deaf aware is a great way to demonstrate good business practice.  Our Deaf Awareness course will give learners an all round understanding of deafness, and the diverse communication needs of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  

After having completed  the training you will:

• gain an understanding of equipment for deaf people and how it works 
• understand the work of Language Support Professionals and how to use them effectively in the workplace
• feel confident about communicating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, thereby allowing you to break down barriers faced by people with hearing loss. 

Interested in having your staff attend our Deaf Awareness Training?  We can come to your organisation and do so!  Our fees are as follows:

Half day (3 Hours) Deaf Awareness Training: £450 - maximum 15 learners
Full day (6 hours) Deaf Awareness Training: £750 - maximum 30 learners 

Living with hearing loss

Living with a hearing Loss is designed to support older people to manage the difficulties experienced by losing their hearing through the ageing process. This is achieved by providing access to appropriate information, skills and services in an empathic learning environment.

When a person’s hearing begins to deteriorate, tasks that used to be carried out with ease become difficult. Communication becomes hard work, leading to anxiety and apprehension which may cause problems with family and friends or a loss of independence and social life. With the right advice, equipment, confidence and communication skills older people with hearing loss can continue to lead fulfilled and independent lives.

Offering a combination of a block of 7-week lipreading classes, one-to-one home visits, visits to residential homes, sheltered housing and day centres enables older people to gain support and information in an environment that is comfortable for them, thus providing opportunities for those who may find it difficult to access traditional training venues.

Our 7-week lipreading courses will encourage self management, support independence, alleviate isolation and encourage a positive approach to the ageing process. Participants will gain confidence, essential information and communication skills. Those people residing in isolated areas will gain access to crucial information and have the opportunity to meet with others experiencing the same difficulties, making much needed social contact.

Living with Hearing Loss has been running since 2015. We provide free informal, friendly courses and workshops to the over 50s with hearing loss, in and around London. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about the various causes of hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, maintaining healthy hearing and supporting others with hearing loss. We practice lip reading exercises and talk about other ways of coping, all in a friendly environment. Here we can share experiences and reduce the isolation which occurs only too often with losing one’s hearing.

Contact Zoe Fudge-Ajadi (Admin) For more information or book your space for any of our course or workshop.

 Voice : 020 8315 2550 Text/SMS: 07732449349
 Email : zoe.fudge-ajadi@deafplus.org

What does the course involve?
The course runs for 7 weeks. We cover the basics of lipreading, provide hearing loss tips, and give you coping strategies. We’ll find out what services and resources are available and invite guest speakers every week to demonstrate equipment and talk about what they do. This course aims to give you a comprehensive look at hearing loss and how to live with it.

What does the workshop involve?
Our workshop gives an overview of how to live with hearing loss in a two- hour session. We will cover the same topics without the lecturers, equipping you with the basics of living with hearing loss.
Come join our friendly groups, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it!

Interested in us running a course or workshop for your day centre, church or car home? Please contact us.

Employment for Deaf and Disabled

Working in partnership with Real DDPO, we provide employment support to Deaf, hard of hearing and disabled people living in Tower Hamlets. 

• Information, Advice and Guidance 
• Employment needs assessment 
• Developing action plans to support clients to secure employment
• Job preparation 
• Mock Interviews 
• Basic Skills such as English and IT 
• Referral and signposting to training providers 
• Support with seeking employment 
• Support with telephone calls 
• Assistance in filling in applications for employment 
• Support with CV 
• Support with interviews 
• Working with employers to recruit and retain clients in work 
• Free Deaf Awareness Training for a deaf employee’s new team when they secure work 
• Assistance with applying for Access to Work funds 
• In-work assistance and support 

Please contact us to make an appointment by emailing employment@deafplus.org or calling 020 7790 8478. 

Career Progression Service

Funded by Trust for London we deliver a ‘Step Up’ project to support Deaf and hard of hearing Londoners to progress their careers. 

• Career progression support 
• Routes out of low-pay support 

We offer support to identify progression routes out of low-paid work. This could include advice, training and support to help low-paid workers into better-paid, sustainable employment which offers a career path, as well as work with employers. 

We will explore options on improving pay, conditions and rights for those on low incomes, including promoting the London Living Wage and addressing exploitative employment practices. 

deafPLUS are proud to achieve the London Living Wage accreditation. 

If you would like support progressing your career, please contact us on employment@deafplus.org or if you are an employer and would like support training & developing your deaf employee, please call us on 020 7790 8478.