Deaf Mental Health
Deaf Mental Health Community Development Project
The aim of this project is to help all mental health services in Leeds to meet the needs of Deaf people.
The priority is to ensure services
• communicate properly with Deaf people,
• understand what Deaf people need
• are as sensitive and good for Deaf people as for hearing people.
This is done by
• working with the Deaf community so that it has the power to influence the change in mental health services
• community ownership – the project and the work belong to the Deaf community
• working to change the attitude that a lot of people have about mental health problems to make sure Deaf people get the help they need.
Free your Mind, a report published in 2003 by the Deaf and Mental Health Partnership, recommends a community development approach. This is about people working together to identify their problems and create the solutions they want.
Disability is not about the Deaf person, it’s about the way society is organised. That’s what disables the Deaf person. The barriers with which society disables Deaf people can be removed. This fits in with Community Links’ values of recovery – individuals with mental health problems building independence and having the lives they want.
To find out more please contact Gerard Cooper by texting 07792 186 332, by e-mailing him at gerard.cooper@commlinks.co.uk or by writing to him at: Community Links, Bank House, 150 Roundhey Road, Leeds, LS8 5LJ
