Houston Deaf Forum
By Bradley Porche | Posted in Blogs | Jul.21, 2009 | 4 CommentsI would like to inform the public that there will be a Houston Deaf Forum. It will take place on August 15th from 12 to 4pm. The location is at St. Dominic Center for the Deaf 2403 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77578.
Here is the execrpt from the deafhouston.org
“Welcome to the Houston Deaf Forum!!!
What is the Houston Deaf Forum? It is a forum where we the deaf and hard of hearing Houston citizens are now gathering to work toward to one common goal. To establish an organization that will become a better voice, unity, and advocacy for the deaf/hard of hearing citizens of Houston and surrounding areas.
So we will be hosting our FIRST Town Hall meeting on August 15th, 2009 at St. Dominic Center for the Deaf. The address is 2403 Holcombe Blvd. Houston, TX 77021 from 12 to 4pm. We will soon be creating a mailing list – to make sure you are INFORMED when something is going on. Remember “WE, THE DEAF COMMUNITY” can’t succeed without your participation!”
As a dphhh.com article contributor, I would strongly encourage you to inform others who might not be reading the dphhh.com article and let them know about the Houston Deaf Forum. It will be a great opportunity for you to express your thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Help spread the word and like Billy said, “Together we stand, divide we fall.”
You can follow the Houston Deaf Forum in different ways, they have a website up at deafhouston.org , a Facebook Fan page at Deaf Houston Forum Fan Page, and you can participate on Twitter at @HouDeafForum .
Comments/Concerns are welcomed!
IP-Relay Scam
By Bradley Porche | Posted in Blogs | Jul.20, 2009 | 10 CommentsAs you may have seen on ABC 13, there has been a discussion about the scammers using i711.com. Since there has been a heightened awareness of the ip-relay scam or also known as www.i711.com scam. Please note, i711.com itself is not a scam, it is the scammer that is using the i711.com service.
I want to address a few concerns by those in the deaf and hard of hearing community. While we condemned the abuse by the scammers using the ip-relay. We want the community at large to understand that while we conduct business or personal calls through TTY (Telephone Typewriter) ip-relay (internet), Video Phone, or VRI (Video Relay Interpreter). There will be a concern among those in the community at large on whether a relay call would be legitimate or a scam.
This scam reflects poorly on the deaf and hard of hearing community and we strive to fight against the abuse of our services. The purpose of using an relay service provides us the independence in order to function within the hearing community. In fact, there are two devices that provides us the giant leap when we socialize with those in the community at large. First is a relay service which a deaf person has access to and currently the three most common “phones” are: TTY, ip-relay (internet), and Video Phone. Second is the use of pager/cell phone with a QWERTY key (virtual or physical) in order to communicate with other people.
Let’s put some of the technology we use in a nutshell.
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Deaf GLBT Support Group
By Billy Koch | Posted in Blogs | Jun.22, 2009 | Leave a Comment*Day: *Every other Thursday
*Time:* 6:30-8:00 p.m.
*Date:* Beginning June 4, 2009
*Duration: *8 weeks
*Contact*: *EMAIL
Video Phone: *832.413.6192
http://www.montrosecounselingcenter.org
*Additional Info: *This FREE* confidential group will be open to all
Deaf who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. No one
will be identified as HIV– or + and you do not have to be a client
at MCC. The group’s facilitator (LBSW) is hearing but is fluent in
American Sign Language. This group will consist of up to ten (10)
participants who may join at anytime during the 8 week group duration.
Participants will sign agreement of confidentiality upon entering the
group meeting.
Montrose Counseling Center
401 Branard
Houston, Texas 77006
*Donations are welcome.
Leann Randolph
Email: interpreters@montrosecounselingcenter.org
Houston Deaf Rights Update
By Billy Koch | Posted in Blogs | Jun.20, 2009 | 1 CommentThey finally updated the Houston Deaf Rights Blogsite with an update to what happened and what has been going on with the March and the results of it. There is also a video of it here – it starts around at 6:00 if you want to see it – Click here for video and click on Public Speakers 2 of 4 and around 6:00 is where Dan Warthling comes in and gives his presentation to the City Council.
Results from the March??
By Billy Koch | Posted in Blogs | Jun.17, 2009 | 1 CommentApparently a day has passed and at this time many of us have watched eagerly the news media, the Chronicle who were supposed to be at the event cover this March. And yet we, the deaf community have not heard anything. So meaning we did not make the impact that we had hoped? If you participated in the March please let us know how it went! We have checked the blogsite for updates and information and nothing has been posted. Where is the communication to the deaf community? For those of you who were at the event let the deaf community know how it went and provide your insight! We would love to hear from you!
Next Protest Meeting – Monday at 7 p.m.
By Billy Koch | Posted in Blogs | Jun.12, 2009 | Leave a CommentHere is the information for the next protest meeting – now whether you are FOR, OPPOSED, or UNSURE about this protest – I highly encourage you to show up and voice your opinions – because this is YOUR COMMUNITY so you need to make sure that you are informed.
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Our next meeting officially is held at Woodhaven Deaf Baptist Church, located at 9920 Long Point Road, Houston, 77055. Again, it’s scheduled on Monday night, June 15 at 7pm for a final preparation for our June 16 march.
Everyone is encouraged to attend. Don’t forget to bring to the meeting (optional) as follows:
-One white cardboard (size 22” X 28”),
-Several markers (black, red, or blue ink is preferred, but if you prefer other colors, that is fine),
-One wood stick (wood sticks must be ¼ inch thick, according to the city’s rules for the march). These are for making signs/posters.
We also suggest a blue shirt to wear for our march in order to be recognized as a group of marchers for our own cause (can be light blue, royal blue, or navy blue). If you have any questions regarding our march, please email at HouDeafRights@aol.com.
Where are the Real Voices? Speak up!
By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Jun.11, 2009 | 3 CommentsAfter 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!
Update Information on Deaf Protest
By Bradley Porche | Posted in Blogs | Jun.10, 2009 | 3 CommentsHere is the Department of Justice settlement between the United States of America, Rashad Gordon and Michael Edward against the City of Houston, TX. Again, this is only a settlement and does not emphasize a case law. Settlement Agreement
There will be another meeting taking place on June 15th at 6:30pm (location will be updated), you can find out more information on the Communication Access Now blog and there is an outline of explanations from the 5 co-founders.
Hope you find this informative and I would strongly encourage you to attend the meeting. I plan on having a real time streaming and archived video of the meeting posted so that more Deaf/HOH people will be aware of what is going on and eventually feel like they are “participating” . It will be from this account, UStream.tv broadcast and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks!
Pre-Deaf Protest Meeting – Tuesday 9th
By Bradley Porche | Posted in Blogs, Politics | Jun.10, 2009 | 14 CommentsTonight I had the opportunity to attend the pre-protest meeting at Memorial City Mall. The meeting finally started after a few minutes delay due to waiting for more Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals to show up. There were approximately around 15 Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals.
There were diverse individuals from different background, some were Deaf and Hard of Hearing, some had a strong conviction to protest and some were not sure of what was going on. Neverthless, Brian Determan, one of the co-founders of the Deaf Right Protest (the title of the protest has not been clarified) took the floor and explained the issue of why we should need to protest.
Several issues were brought up. Some stated that it was a long struggle for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals to gain access to interpreters and the city did not fullfill the needs of Deaf individuals. He said that he met with the city and the city coordinator said that there was not much Deaf awareness and did not know how to provide the support for the Deaf community.
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Share Your Hurricane Ike Experiences
By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Jun.09, 2009 | Leave a CommentWe are already 9 days into a new Hurricane Season which began June 1st. The reason why I am here is to ask for your feedback and to hear about your experiences during Hurricane Ike or afterwards.
First of all, let me share a bit about my experience although it may be different from most of what you had experienced here. I was more fortunate than others, no doubt. I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Galveston County, right on the edge of Clear Lake within 2 miles from Gulf Coast. My apartment home is situated on a marina so I knew I could NOT take any chances with a hurricane that HAD been forecasted to become a Cat-3 (at that time). I immediately packed up my bags and took my dog and evacuated to the west side of Fort Worth where my parents lived (where I hail from), which was a 5 hour drive from Clear Lake. Many of my friends had stayed in Houston and rode out the storm. I stayed up watching CNN all night worrying about everyone here in Houston. I even saw live coverage of boats rocking back and forth on Clear Lake on CNN as Hurricane Ike churned towards Galveston as a Cat-2. All the DARS offices closed for two weeks. Schools closed down. I returned a week later and was very grateful to see that my home that had been in the path of the eye was spared. Not even a scratch. Unfortunately, many people’s homes around me had been destroyed. Debris was everywhere and people threw out all their furniture on the side of streets. Boats were tossed here and there. It was very heart breaking because I had never seen anything like that in my entire life.
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