Shrewsbury hearing loss support centre to shut but projects continue
A visitor centre of a Shropshire-based charity dedicated to helping the deaf and those living with hearing loss will close its doors at the end of the month due to a lack of funds.
Signal: The Hub which is based in the Riverside in Shrewsbury, will shut for good in a couple of weeks time. The Hub was entirely funded by donations which have not been sufficient to keep it open.
Those clients who currently use the service will be told of other providers in can give support and advice and provide equipment maintenance.
The Hub provided help and support and offered a range of services including hearing aid repairs, befriending and outreach work, deaf awareness training and British sign language classes. The Shropshire NHS Audiology team also visited three times a week to provide appointments to those concerned about their hearing.
The charity, which is staffed by volunteers, works to help deaf people and those with hearing loss in the UK and in East Africa.
Grant
But while one door closes another opens and the charity is celebrating after being awarded a new grant which will fund a range of activities and services to be provided to those who are deaf or have hearing loss across the county.
The three year Big Lottery Reaching Communities Grant will fund a new programme called “Looped up; Deaf Friendly Places & Spaces”.
Catriona Nicholls, Signal UK programmes officer said: “We undertook a consultation process back in December with the hearing loss and deaf communities. The findings from those evaluations, plus our learnings over the past three years of delivering services for those who are deaf or have hearing loss, shaped this next phase of activities for the charity. Our ultimate aim; to put the voices of our beneficiaries at the heart of our future services.
“Our new programmes of work will result in raised awareness of, and more services for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, across Shropshire. This will encourage people to address their own personal hearing health, improve access to information and services, and make our county and its people and places more inclusive towards those with hearing problems.”
The project will be launched in December.
