[ASL] FW: [Mass_Deaf-Terp] Help New England Home for Deaf Rebuild After Explosion

[Kaitlyn Millen]

-----Original Message-----
From: Lorraine James [mailto:ljames at library.umass.edu] 
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 10:22 AM
To: Lorraine James
Subject: FW: [Mass_Deaf-Terp] Help New England Home for Deaf Rebuild After
Explosion

Hello Friends,

Please help the folks at the New England Home for the Deaf make their lives
whole again after great damage to the buildings from the Nov 22nd explosion
in Danvers, MA.

NEHD Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Eastern Bank
4 Federal Street
Danvers MA 01923

Watch a video in ASL showing damage at NEHD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbwRTAtPWGw

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely, Tony Toledo

******************************

The following letter was sent to the readers of Golden Times, the NEHD
Newletter:

Deaf and Deaf/Blind elders are in urgent need of your help.

On November 22, an explosion at a nearby chemical plant caused terrible
damage to the New England Homes for the Deaf. 60 Residents woke up to
exploding
gas, pieces of ceiling tiles and light fixtures falling on them.
Miraculously,
Not One Resident Was Injured. But, all residents were forced to leave their
beautiful home in the middle of the night.

Without your help, it could be months before residents can return to New
England Home.

We ask you to bring them home as soon as possible.

50 residents are now in a old part of a local nursing home. They are lucky
to
have NEHD staff to care for them. But, many of them are sleeping four people
in one room. They have only two showers for all to share. Bathroom doors are
not large enough to get wheelchairs into. Deaf/Blind residents are totally
dependent. They do not know how to get places. Other residents are in a
hearing
nursing home without their friends and without signing staff.

Residents do not have their clothing and personal items because NEHD is
buried in broken glass, ceiling tiles and other debris.

Before the explosion, New England Homes for the Deaf had money problems.
Ordinary nursing homes/assisted living/rest home facilities depend on many
private
paying residents. Our Deaf and Deaf/Blind elders were traditionally
under-educated and under employed. They are not a rich group of people.
Nearly
all of
them get Medicaid which pays much less than private pay eligible. It is no
secret that Medicaid does not cover the cost of care.

New England Homes for the Deaf provides more services than "normal" nursing
homes. More staff to serve the Deaf/blind, interpreters for medical care,
sign
language staff, larger spaces to communicate in American Sign Language, and
Braille are all necessary. With NEHD, these seniors would be isolated in
English
speaking "hearing" nursing homes.

We need your help to ensure a future for NEHD and the Deaf and Deaf/Blind
Seniors. Please be as generous as you can.

Donations may be sent to:

NEHD Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Eastern Bank
4 Federal Street
Danvers MA 01923

Further information can be obtained from Judith Good, Coordinator of Fund
Raising Relief Efforts, through email: jthgood at aol.com.

We sincerely appreciate your help.

Barry Zeltzer, PhD
Executive Director New England Home for the Deaf

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