Annual Report

CONTENTS
Chairpersons Statement ........................................................................................................................................................... 2
Thank you to our volunteers ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Support and Advocacy ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
Cambridgeshire Support and Advocacy ................................................................................................................................ 4
Peterborough Advocacy ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Drop in Services .................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Freedom Programme ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Group Advocacy .................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Open Support ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Befriending............................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Housing project ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Community ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Boat Trip ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6
BSL Walks .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Website ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Skywatch ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Over 50s Club and Trip to London........................................................................................................................................ 7
Sport ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Deaf Church .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Cambridgeshire Deaf News ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Football Events...................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Deaf Clubs ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
BSL Gathering ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Services ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
CDA Life ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Sign Language Academy ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
CDA Media ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9
CDA Connect ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Health Campaign ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Deaf Card ............................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Complaints .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Meeting and influencing ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
At Hospital ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Healthwatch .................................................................................................................................................................... 11
With other services ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
With the council .............................................................................................................................................................. 11
Deaf Awareness and BSL ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

CHAIRPERSONS STATEMENT
I would like to welcome you to Cambridge Deaf Associations AGM. I am very proud of the achievements of all
of our staff and volunteers this year.
Our staff have worked very hard this year developing our services. We now have more places to go, more
courses, more places to get help all over our patch. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you
to everyone who helps deliver this service.
Our staff have worked very hard growing our advocacy service. We have delivered the Freedom course as well
as helping people in trouble or people who have a problem explaining their choices. I would like to say a big
thank you to our advocacy team.
Our staff and volunteers have been campaigning about having communication support with the yellow cards. I
would like to say a big thank you to everyone who campaigns.
Our staff have been working hard delivering Deaf awareness courses and teaching people BSL at all sorts of
levels. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who teaches.
Our staff have been working hard supporting people in the community enabling them to live full lives we are in
partnership with Action Deafness to enable us to support our most vulnerable community members to live the
way they want to. Our volunteers befriend and support other members of our community to bring light into
their lives. I would like to give a big thank you to everyone who cares and supports.
Our staff and volunteers run this organisation doing all the administration for the building and for staff,
preparing the bids and the reports, managing the finances, making sure we do everything a high standard. We
are working hard to achieve the PQASSO standard for charities and we are getting closer to this. I would like to
say a big thank you to everyone from my fellow trustees to everyone who helps us work to this high standard.
Our staff and volunteers have been creating social opportunities and I would like to say a big thank you to
everyone who has been helping with fun times.
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been volunteering to help with Deaf church activities
in partnership with CDA it is lovely that the church community can meet here in the lovely refurbished Hope
Hall just as it was built for all those years before.
Finally I would like to say big thank you to Andy Palmer who has been working very hard to lead CDA into the
future as a strong organisation who can make a difference locally and nationally.
Thank you everyone
Janie Anderson
Chair of CDA

THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

We couldnt do what we do without our volunteers and supporters.

Thank you to everyone who contributed this year

Janie Anderson
Justine Brain
Elaine Heath
Godfrey Palmer
Pam Pope
Steve Curry
Kerry Miller
Brendan Casey
Joan Hartley
Julie Garner
Jan Smith
Marion Godsell
Ruth Godden
Helen Perry
Malcolm Perry

Alison Frisby
Suzanne Foulstone
Ky Dai
Charlene Spires
Anna Baker
Catherine Palmer
Fiona Tran
John Uren
Christine Pape
William Palmer
Nigel Wright
William Roberts
Ali Gordon
Misbah Kahn
Natalie Byrne

SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY

We have had a busy year supporting deaf people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. This is our main work
and we have staff working every day to provide support to deaf people. We have tried to expand our work and
make our services more available. We have also recruited more staff.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY
We completed the second year of our main contract with Cambridgeshire County Council. We supported
people with a range of issues relating to keeping people independent and advocating for them on important
decisions in their lives. We have another year to run on this contract and have been told to expect an
extension to this contract.

PETERBOROUGH ADVOCACY
We began to provide advocacy services to Peterborough City Council once again after working hard to
influence them that the service was needed. Since the service began this year we have supported 6 clients
with cases and they are often complex. We are part of the partnership to provide advocacy in Peterborough
for the next 5-7 years
DROP IN SERVICES
We increased our drop in services during the year. We have extended Peterborough to be every month and
Huntingdon every fortnight. We will also be extending Ely to every fortnight too. Our drop in events had over
1400 people attend in the last year.
FREEDOM PROGRAMME
Through our work in the community, we identified that domestic abuse was a problem among deaf women.
We worked with Womens Aid in Peterborough to develop a BSL version of the course to help women escape
domestic violence. It is called the Freedom Programme. Thanks to Ruth Godden and Misbah Khan from
Womens Aid for creating and running this successful course.

GROUP ADVOCACY
For some people, it is hard to communicate in sign language because of additional disabilities. For people who
find it hard to express themselves we have developed a new service called Group Advocacy. This group uses
art and crafts to enable people to express their wishes and feelings without being pressured for time or having
to express using BSL.
OPEN SUPPORT
We have opened the office every Tuesday to see people who want support. This has been successful with each
week being very busy. We will now extend open support service to two days every week in Cambridge, once a
week in Huntingdon and once a month in Fenland.
BEFRIENDING
Our excellent befrienders, Suzanne Foulstone and Alison Frisby have been continuing their good work visiting
isolated people in the community to take them to various events or popping in for a chat. We will increase this
service in the next year so we can help more clients who feel isolated.
HOUSING PROJECT
We have been working hard with Cambridgeshire County Council and Papworth Trust to move deaf people
who want to move closer together in the Huntingdon area. We have had great success so far with two people
moving in since May and more looking to move in soon.
This takes lots of work from our Support and Advocacy team to ensure the wishes and feeling of people are
respected and that they are supported to be independent. We have also worked with Action Deafness from
Leicester who have been providing CQC registered care with local co-ordination provided by CDA. The clients
who have moved have expressed how happy they are to be closer to the Deaf Community with carers who can
sign.

COMMUNITY
BOAT TRIP
We held a successful boat trip on the River Ouse in Huntingdon for clients who are deaf with additional
disabilities in August. Thanks to Natalie Byrne for her help in arranging this event and the staff who were there
to support.
POWER IN OUR HANDS
We held a successful event in Peterborough and Cambridge with the screening of the Power in our Hands film
by the BDA which charts Deaf Community history and language. BDA will be back to show people how to add
their images to the archives.

BSL WALKS
Thanks to Pam Pope who arranged three BSL walks in the summer this year. There were walks in three
locations around Cambridgeshire all researched and organised by Pam. Numbers were lower than expected
but we hope to do more walks in future and that more people will attend.
WEBSITE
Our website is a useful source of information for the community with 50,000 views in the last 12 months. Our
Facebook likes have grown to over 1,200. We had over 50,000 video views on Facebook too. All our videos are
signed and subtitled.

SKYWATCH
Local astronomy enthusiasts David Kettle and Godfrey Palmer have set up a group called Fenland Sky Watchers
Club that meet to look at the stars and discuss subjects relating to astronomy. CDA have supported the group
by promoting it and sharing their information videos.
OVER 50S CLUB AND TRIP TO LONDON
We set up a new Over 50s Club that meets every month. The club held its first meetings in the spring and
there was a trip to London in August. The group will continue to meet on a monthly basis and hold more trips
and events in future. Thanks to Ky Dai for her work with this.
SPORT
We have been working with an organisation called Sports Works to provide holiday clubs for deaf children.
These will begin in the next October half-term in Cambridge with a range of sports provided by qualified
coaches with deaf and signing support to make the events accessible. We will also be providing deaf
awareness to the coaches.
DEAF CHURCH
We have supported the Deaf Church through the year with making the building available free of charge for
church events and advertising meetings and accessible services in the newsletter.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE DEAF NEWS
Our popular Cambridgeshire Deaf Newsletter comes out 4 times every year and is packed with information
about whats coming up and whats been going on. Members asked for a cartoon and a crossword to be
included. Famous Deaf cartoonist Matt Dagle gave CDA special permission to use his cartoons for free. We are
always looking for feedback so let us know what you think.
CHRISTMAS PARTY
For the second year we held a Christmas party at CDA where about 40 people came along to celebrate the
festive season. There was a pool competition won by Colin Garner

FOOTBALL EVENTS
During the spring and summer we held two football related events using our new big screen. The FA Cup final
and an England game were screened live with fans coming to CDA to enjoy the action.
DEAF CLUBS
The building was used to host Cambridge Deaf Club on a monthly basis and we also support Huntingdon Deaf
and Hearing Club which runs monthly. We used our website to promote the work of Peterborough Deaf Club,
March Deaf Club, Sky Watchers and the Wisbech meet-up. Peterborough United Deaf Football Clubs including
sharing their videos.
BSL GATHERING
BSL Gathering has been going strong with between 30 and 50 people attending each week. This group is a
great way for BSL students and Deaf people to meet and socialise in the centre of Peterborough in a great
setting. Thanks to Charlene Spires for organising this successful event.

SERVICES
CDA provide a range of great services which are all related to deafness and
sign language.
CDA LIFE
We now work with 11 clients across the county supporting them with Action
Deafness in Personal Care or through support workers. This work is important
as it means deaf people receive the right support and any surplus can be used
to benefit the community. We expect this to area of our work to grow over the
coming years. CDA now has created paid employment for 14 deaf people.
SIGN LANGUAGE ACADEMY
Our Sign Language Academy has grown. In the last year we taught BSL to over 100 students. We started our
new course called BSL Basics and taught BSL with Citizens Advice Bureau, Cambridge University and in two
primary schools. Were also now delivering informal BSL classes to staff from Addenbrookes Audiology and
the Emmeline Centre for cochlear implants. We will be delivering BSL Level 3 in the next few months.

CDA MEDIA
Our new studio has been put to good use. We have done videos for the community and won work to translate
information for the Cambridgeshire Alliance, Deafblind UK and Cambridgeshire County Council. The studio will
also soon be available for hire. We had our first celebrity in the studio when Rory McGrath came to film our
Deaf Card video.
CDA CONNECT
We have been providing BSL interpreters through our CDA Connect Service through the year and that has
generated some income. However, we have decided to stop this activity to allow us to focus on Sign Language
Classes, CDA Life and Media work. The interpreting market is crowded with many good and very competitive
providers which will make it hard for us to make money from interpreting in future.

HEALTH CAMPAIGN
We have worked hard through the year to improve the health outcomes for deaf people in our area. In June
2015 we met the CCG at our Deaf Forum but have not been successful in arranging another meeting at the
moment. We have continued to work in other ways to improve the situation for deaf people accessing health
services.

DEAF CARD
We launched Deaf Card which helps deaf people
explain their rights to service providers to get an
interpreter or communication support.
We have given these cards to all deaf people in
our area and sent them to more than 500 people
across the UK. Rory McGrath also came in to
record a video for us to explain to people the law
about BSL Interpreters.
COMPLAINTS
We have supported deaf people to make
numerous complaints to the NHS when
interpreters are not booked to make sure that
these problems are recorded and dealt with.

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MEETING AND INFLUENCING

AT HOSPITAL
We have met with the Nursing Director at Addenbrookes Hospital and managers of Audiology and the
Emmeline cochlear implant centre.
HEALTHWATCH
We are meeting with Healthwatch who have agreed to work with us and will be present at a Health Equality
conference next week to push the case for better provision of communication support at health services. Once
we have agreed a way forward with Healthwatch, we will again engage the local CCG.
WITH OTHER SERVICES
Our staff also make sure that when dealing with any professional that the need to get communication support
is made clear and that should it not be provided, we will support our clients to complain if they wish to do so.
WITH THE COUNCIL
We have attended a series of meetings with Cambridgeshire Council to influence their accessible information
policy. We were successful in making sure BSL videos are included on the policy and will be created for
important information.
DEAF AWARENESS AND B SL
We will be working with Addenbrookes to provide BSL tuition to staff in Audiology and the Emmeline Centre
every two-weeks. This will improve their deaf awareness and their ability to provide a better service to deaf
people who use sign language.

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