BETHANYBEACH, Del. - The International Week of the Deaf is celebrated in many countries, but in Sussex County, Delaware, it has taken on a whole new meaning to the growing population of deaf individuals.
"Many of them moved here because they saw the deaf community growing in this area," said Barbara White, secretary of the Delaware Deaf Senior Citizens.
With the help of an interpreter, White signed that the week's events are aiming to bring the community closer to their deaf neighbors. White says the DDSC has made leaps and bounds over the last year to gain more access for deaf people.
"Some of our health care providers know sign language as well so through word of mouth they're saying go there, go to that physical therapist, go to that physician," White said.
But Billy Bowman says that there's more work to be done.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg, we don't want to make a lot of noise or put them on notice. But this is just an opportunity for us to collaborate on a few very important issues that we face every single day," Bowman said.
White said one crucial thing that needs to improve is having more interpreters in Sussex County.
"We don't have many interpreters living here in this area, and we're hoping more and more interpreters will be moving to this area," White said.
Bowman said it all starts with bringing the community together to raise awareness with events like this.
"We are very much a part of this vibrant community, we contribute a lot to the socioeconomic growth here in Sussex County, so we want to let them know who we are," Bowman said.
As a part of International Week of the Deaf, instructors will be giving sign language classes to the public at the South Coastal Library on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 1 p.m. in Bethany Beach.
