News & Events
May DV/SV Training
DeafHope just had our weekend DV/SV training for community members. Thanks to everyone who came and gave their time and energy for this important movement!
(image: group picture of 16 training participants.
in the back two people are holding dogs. in the front, there are two babies looking at each other)
Community Support for Sabrina Blount
“Sabrina Blount is a victim of a violent crime. On April 7, 2015, two men, who she thought were her friends, drove her from Fayetteville to Raleigh against her will. They got her drunk and drugged her, then raped her. Not only that, they drove their vehicle over her body twice in a parking lot then left her there alone. Four weeks later, she is still hospitalized. She will have surgeries because almost all of her organs are involved in the damage. Her mother has lost her job and house because she has to take care of her. Sabrina has an 18 month old baby who is being taken care of by her grandmother for now. Your donations will be truly appreciated.”
http://www.gofundme.com/tg85nsks.
Fun at NorCal Deaf BBQ!
DeafHope was pleased to host a booth along with DeafSafe at NorCal’s Annual Deaf BBQ:
[description: photo of the DeafHope/DeafSafe booth at NorCal Deaf BBQ. Its a sunny day at the park – on a green lawn with a river in the background. A white banner with the DeafHope purple logo is displayed across the top of the photo. Mary Klein, Jane Whitney and Carrie Michaels are posed together, smiling at the camera. On the table in front of them the DeafHope Power and Control Wheel, an informational poster with statistics, and brochures are displayed. There is a wicker basket with a purple ribbon near the middle. On the left side of the table is an iPad and a photo of DeafHope that says FAMILY on the frame.]
Tucson Deaf Community DV Workshop
DeafHope has been honored to be a part of an important project to increase awareness and access for Deaf survivors in Tucson. COPD (Community Outreach Program for the Deaf) hosted a wonderful workshop for the community last week, featured in Deaf Tucson News. Read the full article here.
[image description: Photo of the workshop being held in a large conference room. People are seated in chairs lined along the floor, facing a stage. On each side of the stage is a flag. Toward the left of the stage is a large screen, showing the DeafHope Power and Control Wheel. A CDI stands to the far left, next to an easel with a pad of paper. Lindsay James, a young white woman wearing a black shirt and white pants is standing near the Wheel, signing. Amber Hodson, a white woman wearing grey slacks and a black top, is standing to the far right of the stage next to a podium, her hands folded in front of her. On the far side of the conference room (at the background of this photo) several booths line the wall with people seated behind the tables, watching the workshop presenters.]
Ruthie’s Story
TRANSCRIPT
The video opens up with black background and white text. “SEE THAT WOMAN OVER THERE.” An image of a slim white woman wearing a tank top sitting at what seems to be a bar counter appears in a circle. Her head and face isn’t visible. There is a glass with what seems to be beer on the counter. The screen becomes black again with white text “I’m going back…” A woman’s legs are shown walking towards us on concrete. The screen becomes black with white text “to court…” A woman’s legs are shown walking up concrete stairs. The screen becomes black with white text, “to see the rapist.” An image of the rapist appears. He is a white-appearing man with short dark hair and beard. The text, “to see the rapist again” is below the image. The screen becomes black with white text, “This time I’m going there for her, because she can’t…” Ruthie appears on screen. She is a white woman with short reddish/blonde hair and wears black square glasses and a black top with a zipper in front. She is signing with captions below. “When I see a woman with a black eye in public, I begin to have flashbacks of that horrifying night.” An image of a white house with cold snow and a tree in the background of the ugly white house appears in the middle of a black background. White text appears on the bottom, “I was kidnapped and trapped in his home…” An angry looking white man appears and then slaps a white woman. She looks at us covering her eye with her hand. It’s a close up shot so we only see both people’s eyes. The screen becomes black with white text, “He put his finger on my black eye and gently rubbed in circles and then he even kissed it…” Ruthie appears on screen. “I didn’t know if I wanted to live or die.” A close-up shot of a white woman in distress appears. She is signing “No! No! No!” A pencil drawing of a broken heart with a knife in the middle. The words “No No” is also on the heart with tear drops around it. Ruthie appears on screen. “Everytime I had to go to work in Hartford…” An image of a city with many tall buildings appears with black text, “Hartford, Connecticut.” Ruthie appears on screen. “I couldn’t escape the memory of what had happened. Hartford became my nightmare.” The screen becomes black with white text, “Remembering that night…” A small circle showing a picture of napkins with a person writing on it appears. The rest is black with white text, “Tony and I were writing on napkins back and forth… Tony: Do you sign? Ruthie: Yes of course! American Sign Language is my language. Tony: You have great smile… Ruthie appears on screen. “I feel as though Tony took advantage of the fact that I am Deaf.” A close up shot of a white woman screaming. Captions say, “Scream: No Sound.” Ruthie appears on screen. “I tried to scream help, but I knew no one would understand.” A close up shot of a white woman screaming. Captions say, “Scream: with sounds.) Her hand grabs her throat while she is screaming. It’s a longer shot with her screaming with her hand on her throat. Screaming until the screen fades – as if he is choking her to death. Ruthie appears on screen. Her head is down at first then she looks up. She nods and signs, “I am a survivor of this barbaric sexual assault. I trust, your honor, you will make the right decision in this case. So that in the future no more women will have to suffer cruelty at his hands.”
A newspaper article appears. The text says, “Man Sentenced In Rape. Eight Years In Prison For Attack On Deaf Woman. September 25, 2002 By DWIGHT F BLINT; Courant Staff Writer.
MIDDLETOWN- An East Hampton man will serve eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a deaf woman he had met at a Hartford bar. In addition to prison time, Anthony Garofalo, 28, of Old Middletown Avenue, was sentenced Monday to seven years of special parole and 10 years of probation for the assault that left the woman with a black eye and a bruised nose. The sentence came through a plea agreement. An circular image of a courtroom appears. White text on black background says, “I will be back in court again.” A square image of the rapist appears. White text on black background says, “back with him.” A circular black/white image of a smiling white woman appears. White text on black background says, “and the ghost of the woman, that unlike me, didn’t live to tell.” Below the picture, white text appears, “Jini Barnum, Dec 17, 1981 – Sept 9, 2012.” An image of a white woman with long hair (a younger Ruthie) holding a candle appears. White text on black background says, “But I will…” Black background with white text, “by Ruthie Jordan, Dedicated to Jini Barnum, Survivors, Deaf Women” White background with a black square showing roots growing and many circles in a tree shape. Text: This story was created in a workshop facilitated by Center for Digital Story Telling.”
www.storycenter.org
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s logo appears. Freedom From Sexual Violence.
CCASA Digital Storytelling Project
www.ccasa/org/digitalstorytelling
DeafHope Responds to Derailers PSA Feedback
TRANSCRIPT:
Tara Holcomb, DeafHope’s Empowerment Director is sitting on a gray couch. Her blonde hair is down and she is wearing a black shirt.
“Hi! I’m Tara, one of the EDs with DeafHope. We just released a PSA called “Derailers” and we got feedback that our use of PhotoBooth techniques to distort faces to show different characters actually derailed from the intended message of believing and supporting survivors. An important point came up about how we promoted beauty standards by using distorted faces to show wrong, bad, and derailing statements. While at the end of the video, the PhotoBooth effects were removed to show “nice” faces with proper comments. That appears to reinforce the message that people who look different and who don’t fit into society’s beauty standards are wrong and bad. We seem to be promoting that thinking. The feedback we received was valuable to DeafHope and we took the time to discuss it. We have decided to take down the current PSA and redo it without the PhotoBooth techniques. We really appreciate this opportunity to self-analyze, learn, and process it together. Thank you to everyone who shared those points with us. Going forward, if there are any issues, please know that we are open to feedback. You can contact us at deafhope@deaf-hope.org.”
Black background appears with white text: deafhope@deaf-hope.org.
Tara comes back on. “DeafHope has always been and will continue to work in solidary with survivors and continue to spread our message of supporting and believing survivors. We will continue to work with our communities. Sometimes the learning process can be painful but it’s an important part of our work together.”
For more information on Derailers:
https://wearawhitefeather.wordpress.com/accountability/the-great-derailers/
DeafHope joins Peace Over Violence & Justice for Deaf Victims National Coalition (JDVNC) for Denim Day
There is no excuse for victim blaming!
[image description: Three separate pictures put together of Aracelia Aguilar, Brian Berlinski, and Tara Holcomb. All are wearing jeans and serious faces. White text in the middle of the image says “DeafHope supports Denim Day. There is no excuse for victim blaming.]
Join us for Dare to Utter
Buy your tickets online: http://daretoutterca.bpt.me
[flyer description: black background. white font title “DARE TO UTTER. MAY 29TH, 2015.” a black and white picture of a clawed handshape facing upwards (to represent the sign for Dare to Utter, like baring my heart to you). white font text: Deaf Survivors’ Stories. Klopping Theatre. Dark orange font text: California School for the Deaf-Fremont. 39350 Gallaudet Drive, Fremont, CA 94538. White font text: Dare to Utter is a compilation of stories from Deaf survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence as shared through actors in American Sign Language on stage. Their stories are all true and the story-sharing serves to raise awareness about the cycles of abuse and sexual violence in our communities. 7:00 pm. $15.00 per ticket. 100% of the proceeds will go to DeafHope. Thank you for your support! DeafBlind interpreting is available upon request. Please contact: deafhope@deaf-hope.org by May 12th. Buy your tickets online: http://daretoutterca.bpt.me. DeafHope logo, Dare to Utter logo, CSDF logo.]
Our Focus on Continual Growth
DeafHope was thrilled to participate in a training hosted by Futures without Violence. We spent this week meeting with organizations from around the country to discuss fundraising and other strategies for sustainability. We also created a workplan for our priority projects this year.
[description: Image on the left shows a conference room with people sitting around tables working on group projects. In the foreground Brian, Aracelia, Tara and Amber are having a discussion. Papers, coffee cups and folders are spread over the table. Image on the right shows Amber (hair down, wearing sunglasses and a grey sweater), Aracelia (hair pulled back, wearing glasses and a black zip up fleece), Tara (hair down, wearing a black top and cardigan) and Brian (wearing sunglasses and a purple plaid button up shirt) standing together looking at the camera.]
DVSV Training Announcement
[description of flyer: image of DeafHope logo
DeafHope’s 2015 Training Dates May 1-3/ August 7-9/ November 6-8
Alameda County Family Justice Center
470 27th Street, Oakland
Friday 6-9pm
Saturday 9am-5pm
Sunday 9am-5pm
attendance for all three days is required
presented in ASL
NO COST
to register or for more information: deafhope@deaf-hope.org
Violence Against Women/Domestic Violence/Sexual Violence/Community Accountability
image on the left of painting by Nancy Rourke “Community Accountability” of three women hugging each other in a circle]