Alt.Cardiff magazine: The Deaf Awareness Issue

December 2021 Issue 1

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“mental health” finger-spelled in British Sign Language

Silent Inequality The critical lack of mental health services for deaf people in Wales

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LOCAL NEWS

Deaf and ‘Not Sorry’

The film was directed

by Elise Davison Photo: Alistair Daly

A new film by Stephanie Back, explores becoming deaf at 15 and her ‘rebirth’ after discovering British Sign Language A new performance film about an actress’ experience of becoming deaf at 15 and her “rebirth” after learning British Sign Language (BSL), premieres online this month.

Not Sorry, featuring Stephanie Back from Taking Flight theatre company, explores her discovery of BSL and subsequent “breaking free” from society’s negative view of deafness.

The film was created by Taking Flight, a deaf-inclusive theatre company, and Artes Mundi, a visual arts organisation in Wales. It will be available to watch for free on their websites 12 November – December, 2021 and will be fully accessible to people who are deaf.

There are 575,000 people with some form of hearing loss in Wales, according to a report from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.

“This piece gave me the opportunity to break free from what you’re told deafness is” However, Stephanie felt this group is not catered for by the Welsh theatre scene so, in 2019, she established the only youth theatre for actors who are deaf or hard of hearing in Wales.

While she says she is proud of this achievement, it also represents the lack of accessible opportunities to train as a deaf actor.

“If a young deaf or disabled person cannot get into youth theatres, where is their passion going to ignite?” she asked.

For Stephanie, theatre has been an important medium to express her identity as a deaf person and a BSL user. Not Sorry will reflect the beautiful, rich culture of deafness and what BSL means to her as a “language without barriers.”

She said, “When I first went deaf, all I was given was an audiogram that I had ‘failed’. It told me nothing of my identity as a deaf person.”

“This piece gave me the opportunity to explore breaking free from what you’re told deafness is.”

Charity at the chippy

LGBTQ Church’s Birthday

Victoria Fish Bar will open this Christmas in order to help homeless people and public service workers by offering them with free Christmas meals.

Owner, Muhammad Nazakat, has been giving out Christmas dinners for the last two years, initially coming up with the idea after noticing how many people were living on the streets of Cardiff.

He said it is important for businesses to make a positive contribution to the community.

“It’s a short life, we must stick together and look after each other. Unity is the most important thing.”

The Gathering, an inclusive Christian church turned 10 years old last Sunday.

The church preaches that everyone has a right to worship, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. One of a growing number of LGBTQ+ Churches in Cardiff, the leadership team at The Gathering is headed by Reverend Delyth Liddell.

Delyth is passionate about “justice and dignity for all,” and says that the anniversary is “a celebration for us of all of the people we’ve been able to support because of their sexuality or gender over the last 10 years.”

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INTERVIEW

T

wm Bollen-Molloy, or ‘Polly Amorous’, only has half a face of makeup on and an eager audience waiting in the club downstairs.

“I promised myself I would have two hours to get ready for tonight,” he mutters, frantically applying eyeliner.

“Now, I’ve only got one.”

Getting ready in a rush is nothing new for Twm. Until a few weeks ago, he juggled a full-time bar job with performing four times a week.

After work, he had 30 minutes on the train to get into drag.

“I felt like Hannah Montana,” he chuckles. “Living two lives.”

Things have changed with his recent decision to do drag full-time, one that he credits to the nightmare of lockdown.

However, it wasn’t long before he started to adapt, earning from weekly shows over Facebook live, despite limited resources.

“I had my phone and speaker on top of an ironing board, propped against a bottle of vodka.”

He describes with characteristic humour.

Sequined silver lining Twm is relieved that restrictions are lifting.

However, he is greatful that lockdown inspired him to make performing as Polly his full-time gig and is determined to suceed.

“This is what I was born to do,” he says with a smile, making a final flourish of his makeup brush.

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I became a full-time drag queen in lockdown Up-and-coming Cardiff queen, Polly Amorous, ditched making martinis for makeup brushes

Finding Polly The career move has surprised no one more than Twm himself.

“If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be a full-time drag queen, I’d have laughed in your face,” he says, arching a painted eyebrow.

Everything changed six years ago when he booked some drag queens for an event. One of them dolled him up into drag as a thank you.

“I just remember looking into the mirror and thinking ‘Wow. this feels right.’”

The sound of silence The future has not always looked so bright for Polly.

When Covid-19 hit, Twm hadn’t been working for long enough to claim financial allowances. Suddenly, he found himself on universal credit, desperately missing the buzz of performing.

Twm applying his makeup before the show

“This is what I was born to do” @lt.cardiff

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LONG READS

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SILENT INEQUALITY A report has found that there is a critical lack of specialised deaf mental health services in Wales, forcing many to travel to England for accessible treatment

D

eaf people are twice as likely to experience mental health issues during their lifetime than the general population, according to a recent report.

However, for deaf people living in Wales, the situation is worsened by an absense of mental health services.

Wales is the only country in the UK without an established pathway for deaf people who require mental healthcare.

40% of Wales’ 575,000 deaf people will experience mental health problems,

according to the report by a group of Welsh deaf mental health organisations. But existing services do not cater to the community’s needs, often meaning that patients must travel to England to recieve treatment.

The lack of provision for Welsh deaf people begins in childhood. 80% of the 2,500 children deaf children in Wales attend schools without specialist facilities.

Growing up deaf can be deeply isolating.

Louise Sweeney, CEO of Wales Council for Deaf People said, “Children who are Deaf often grow up with hearing parents and do not know any Deaf role models.

They often believe that opportunities are not open to them in the way they are for hearing children.”

“Children who are deaf often grow up believing opportunities are not open to them”

The report found that problems with healthcare access start in GP surgeries, where many staff do not know how to book interpreters for patients.

Telephone bookings and virtual appointments are much more common since the beginning of the pandemic. Unfortunately, they often rely on audio making them inaccessible to deaf people.

In 2016, SignHealth, a deaf health charity, found that

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The first barrier

LONG READS

70% of deaf people who wanted an appointment with their GP did not attempt to make one, as they thought it would be too difficult to communicate.

Naomi Wray, 21, a Cardiff resident who is profoundly deaf, said, “Phone appointments make me very anxious. To have to discuss sensitive topics on the phone and receive advice that I may not hear correctly makes it all the worse.”

Mental health services

The lack of accessibility continues in mental health services. Deaf people may be put on a local mental health ward with limited access to communication until, if they are fortunate, an interpreter is used when they are assessed by a doctor.

Alternatively, they may be admitted to a specialist unit in England. But this can only take place after funding is agreed, causing a significant delay and isolating people from their family and friends.

Ffion Griffiths, 23, who is profoundly deaf, described her experience with the Welsh mental health service as “very difficult and frustrating”.

“Politicians ask about numbers but it’s more about people’s lives”

After being assessed by a Welsh psychiatrist, the Neath resident was referred to a mental health service in England. But this procedure took months, causing her mental health to further

21% 60%

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deteriorate. Ffion was allocated a hearing counsellor, meaning that she needed a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

“A deaf counsellor would be a massive advantage as they wouldn’t require the third-party interaction [with an interpreter],” she said. “This would allow the patient to be more expressive, as the deaf counsellor would relate to the client’s experience and their cultural upbringing.”

Looking to the future

These issues are little known outside the deaf community, partially due to a lack of data.

Louise Sweeney said, “We do not know how many Deaf people in Wales are missing out on help and support from mental health services.”

Louise is frustrated by the political emphasis on statistics. She said, “Politicians ask about numbers, but it’s more about people’s lives.”

The report has made recommendations such as deaf awareness training for all primary care staff, health providers recording patients’ preferred language (for example, BSL) and establishing a lead for deaf CAMHS. It has received several supportive replies from Assembly members.

Mark Isherwood MS made a Member’s Legislative Proposal for a British Sign Language Bill in the last Senedd, which would ‘improve access to education and services in BSL.’ However, the proposal did not win the ballot.

But since 40% of Deaf people are affected by this issue, the report clearly calls for action. We are yet to see whether Wales will listen.

of deaf people feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’* of deaf people ‘put off’ seeking medical advice from GPs due to the introduction of remote appointments** *respondents to the RNID’s ‘Access to remote GP appointments during COVID-19’ report, 2020 **British Deaf Association, 2017

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