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individuals, family and friends with hearing loss as well as fully hearing
people who wish to participate. There are no dues per se,
but an annual modest donation of fifteen dollars per member
or twenty five dollars per family, is the by word to meet
expenses. Donations by other area organizations, as well as
individuals, and occasional modest fund raisers, also
contribute support.
Meetings are held monthly except for
July, August, September when luncheons are available in lieu
of meetigs. Chapter meetings are held at the First
Presbyterian Church Hall, 2230 Harriet St., Port Charlotte
and prepared well in advance by its voluntary board of
directors chaired by an elected president, vice president,
treasurer, and secretary.
Typical meetings informally include a
greeting of new members, name tags, and sign in. The formal
meeting starts as the president presides by introducing
visitors and new members, to the group at large, and
encouraging them to say a few words about themselves and
what brought them to the meeting, followed by a few business
items and the program speaker for the day. There is ample
opportunity for questions, discussion, and comments, easily
handled with the assistance of real time captioning,
available assistive listening devices, and a powerful PA
system. In the refreshment, socializing time after the
formal meeting, participants rely on their hearing aids, lip
reading and occasional sign language. Being together in this
setting is an enormous lift to one's spirit and confidence
relative to participation more fully in an all hearing
society.
Speakers focus, and sometimes
illustrate via visual aids, on subjects, for instance,
dealing with types, structure of hearing aids and their pros
and cons; diagnostic and rehabilitation services, research
and technological updates. mental health aspects of hearing
loss and family relations associated with it, demonstrations
such as the use and reliability of hearing dogs. Three
recent speakers included the Chief of Audiology and Speech
Pathology at the Veterans Hospital, Bay Pines, Florida , a
local Dr. of Audiology with twenty nine years of experience
in diagnostic and hearing rehabilitation services, and a
Florida board member who sits on the National SHHH Board in
Bethesda MD. Communication and further information is
enhanced by mailing five issues annually of SHHH Charlotte
Ears Tri County Newsletter to members, area service
providers and interested individuals.
Advocacy takes many forms, such as
periodically communicating with area hospitals,
hotels/motels concerning compliance with the ADA (American
Disability Act) as it applies to hearing impaired clients.
Advising other public facilities on the installation and use
of assistive listening devices in large room settings.
Additionally, thanks to a grant from a Florida foundation,
equipment, hardware and pertinent literature were purchased
for display on the third Wednesday/monthly, at the Port
Charlotte Cultural Center, to aid hearing impaired persons
with education and possible selection, through catalogs, of
the latest home alerting and listening devices on the
market. Charlotte Ears members are on hand to host and
assist anyone in need of the information.
The Chapter is currently involved in
advocating/ supporting potential Florida legislation to establish "A Commission on
Deafness". It is currently under discussion in Tallahassee
as legislators engage in discussions on many bills. Briefly
its thrust is to increase coordination among public and
private entities serving individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing, provide information and education, provide services
where gaps exist, review state agencies to determine their
compliance with accessibility standards, study the
feasibility and necessity for licensing interpreters, and
maintain a registry of qualified interpreters.
Each year some members attend the
National SHHH Organization Convention, meeting
representatives and participants from all fifty states and
Washington DC. They bring back much current and updated
looks at technology, legislation, research, literature and
associated subjects, as its presenters are cut across
business, industry, government, manufactures, communication
utilities, education and medical updates.
Suffice it to say that Charlotte Ears
Tri County SHHH is far a field from Mark Anthony's
uneducated oration but sits on the cutting edge of support,
to even the playing field for hard of hearing citizens in a
society geared for fully hearing people. This is the legacy
we leave our children and grandchildren, some of whom will
be deaf or hard hearing.
Frank Corica Board Member and Past
President
Charlotte Ears Tri County SHHH Chapter
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