GDA news
Going the Extra Mile (GEM) project
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Congratulations to the deaf participants
who completed their hearing awareness
workshop in April. The workshop provided
an opportunity to practise with the trainees
how to use networking situations. With such
an emphasis on effective communication, this
can be particularly daunting for deaf job seeke
Under the guidance of project developer and d
role model, Reg Cobb, shortly after the worksh
participant obtained a job offer and another completed a job interview. A third
participant has gained a voluntary work placement and the fourth achieved a work
placement at a prestigious local car showroom.
The GEM Project supports individuals in Gloucestershire who, at the start of their
journey, may feel a long way from ever achieving a place in education, training,
employment or self employment, or volunteering. Using support which is personcentered
and most importantly specialist, it seeks to overcome barriers.
The GEM programme is a unique partnership of specialist community based
organisations, including GDA, which is managed by Gloucestershire Gateway Trust on
behalf of Gloucestershire County Council. The project is jointly funded by the Big
Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund. For more information, please visit
glosgem.org
Deaf Awareness Talk
At the end of May, GDA's Jenny Hopkins and Emma Jenkins gave an
'Understanding Deafness' talk to the Gloucester U3A group. More than 60 people
attended and learned some of the different ways to meet the challenges of going
deaf later in life. Many have now also made an appointment to try out our range of
listening aid and visual alert equipment. Here's what one of their members, Ann
Williams, later wrote to us: "Thank you both for such a helpful and useful day last
Friday. All of our members I've seen since then found it so useful and helpful and we're
truly grateful to you for the information with which you provided us." If you'd like to
know more about the different equipment available that could help you at home,
give us a call on 01452 372999.
YouChoose
Hearing aid clinics
YouChoose is an innovative peersupport
service which enables anyone
living with significant deafness to receive
support from a personal assistant who is
also deaf. It has been working highly
successfully in the Midlands and GDA is
now helping to bring it to
Gloucestershire and South
Gloucestershire. Whether you are a sign
language user, or someone who has
become deaf over time and speaks but
doesn’t hear, the only criteria is that you
feel you would benefit from the regular
companionship of someone who
understands you perfectly. Our deaf
personal assistants are all warm, kind
people who are selected on the basis
that they have more confidence to
manage everyday challenges better and
can help you do the same. That may be
to help you meet new friends, get fit or
simply enjoy shopping trips together.
For information about how YouChoose
works, please contact the GDA office.
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GDA has recently added two new venues
to its list of more than 20 clinics around
Gloucestershire where you can have your
aids cleaned and re-tubed:
Cheltenham East Community Fire and
Rescue Station, Keynesham Road, GL53
7PX on the 3rd Tuesday of every month
between 10am and 12pm. Please note that
for September only, this clinic will take
place on the 3rd Friday (15th September)
between 10am and 12pm.
Fresh Ground Cafe, 26 Westward Road,
Stroud, GL5 4JQ on the 4th Thursday of
every month between 10am and 12pm.
To find your local clinic or to book onto
any of our hearing-aid clinics, please
contact the GDA office on 01452 372999
or text 07875 610860.
Friendship Circle Summer Party
On Tuesday 27th June, over 70 guests came to
GDA for the Friendship Circle summer party.
This is a free event for anyone with an
acquired hearing loss; it's a chance to meet new
friends and catch up with old ones, while
enjoying a delicious lunch, which this year was
provided by Yumma Food. Our thanks to Jacky, Becky,
Lorraine, Louise and Jane from our corporate partner, Ecclesiastical, who
volunteered their time to support the event and ensure everyone was well looked
after. The Friendship Circle will return with its Christmas party on Tuesday 28th
November - hope to see you there.