Where are the Real Voices? Speak up!

By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Jun.11, 2009 3 Comments

After reading the posts and blogs that everyone has written about related to the Protest and the lack of upholding the DOJ settlement in those cases where the deaf cititzens got denied communication access such as a qualified interpreter. My question is: Where are those deaf citizens who said they got denied an interpreter recently? These citizens need to speak up and make their voices heard. They need to tell the story of what happened. These are the people we should be listening to. Please, speak up for yourselves. You cannot expect other people to do the work and “talking” for you. You can empower yourselves to make yourself heard by the City of Houston and Houston Police Department. Everyone will be listening and will back you up. You are the true voice. Sooo… Speak Up!

About Julie Reese

Julie Reese is a DARS Rehabilitation Counselor serving the Deaf caseload as well as a caseload for people with general disabilities in Clear Lake to Galveston region. She is currently working on a masters in Rehabilitation Counseling through University of Kentucky on behalf of DARS’ QVRC program. Julie is a Fort Worth native. She was also one of the Founders and the first Hostess for Dallas-Fort Worth DPHH (now known as DHHDFW) in 2004.

3 Responses

Jun 11th, 2009MC

You are correct. We cannot depend on Advocacy, Inc or Deaf Resource Specialists to speak up for us. It is time for us to take charge of our selves and make tons of noises in the community to show we are here and will not go away. That’s the essential purpose of establishing Houston Association for Deaf is absolutely a MUST!
Jun 12th, 2009Billy Koch

Here’s the thing, I had a conversation with the founders of the protest – their response was the reason why they are having the protest because they were denied an opportunity to an interpreter. But the individual also said that the City said that “NO ONE” has ever complained since for years. So how can we as individuals HELP if no one will voice their concerns. This is another reason why an organization needs to be created to have some sort of documentation, and more to assist with this so we can be the voice to assist as resource to help to build on this.
Jun 12th, 2009Billy Koch

Keep in mind the organization is NOT being built to shut down other organizations, that is NOT the goal. The goal is to build a more collaborative group and agencies who can provide better services for others and each other!

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