Happy August!
July brought new research directions and new partnerships for Global Deaf Research Institute. We began exploring a research project focused on deaf refugees, connected with the World Institute on Disability, continued expanding our global partnerships, and wrapped up a heartfelt fundraiser in San Francisco. Here is what we have been working on.
Documenting the Experiences of Deaf Refugees
This month we began early discussions about a new research project to voluntarily document the experiences of deaf refugees. Deaf refugees face unique and often invisible barriers as they navigate displacement, resettlement, and access to services, and we believe their stories are essential to building better policy and support systems.
If you would like to support this project, the most direct way to help is by donating so that we can compensate participants for their time and provide additional support resources throughout the research process.
Donate To Support Deaf Refugees in USA
Connecting with the World Institute on Disability and Expanding Our Global Network
This month we connected with the World Institute on Disability (WID), an organization dedicated to advancing the rights and opportunities of disabled people around the world. We are excited about the possibilities this connection opens up for future collaboration and shared advocacy.
We are also continuing to build our global partnerships through early conversations with the World Federation of the Deafblind and the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People. Together, these growing relationships will help us provide the research data that international organizations need to push for policy change at both the national and global level.
Planning Our Next National Deaf Needs Assessment in the Dominican Republic
We are planning our next national deaf needs assessment in the Dominican Republic, set to take place in March. As part of this work, we may partner with the CDC and the Center for Inclusive Policy to support a sensitivity analysis around hearing difficulties within the Washington Group Short Set on Functioning, which is used in government census data, as well as to test new questions related to psychosocial disabilities.
This work matters because the Washington Group Short Set is the primary tool governments use to count deaf people through the census. The current questions are not always the best way to identify deaf individuals, and when the wording falls short, it leads to undercounting the deaf population. An undercount means less funding, fewer services, and less government support for deaf people overall. Helping refine these questions is a meaningful way to improve how deaf communities are counted and served worldwide.
Celebrating Zamica’s SF Marathon Fundraiser
We are so grateful to share that our SF Marathon fundraiser with Zamica Gage has wrapped up. Zamica ran the San Francisco marathon to raise money for GDRI, and together we raised $1,098 in support of our mission.
If you would like to celebrate Zamica’s accomplishment and support our work, you can still donate here:
Donate to the SF Marathon Fundraiser
Thank you so much, Zamica, for your dedication and for running on behalf of our community.
July reminded us that meaningful partnerships often take years to build, and that community generosity, whether through a marathon, a donation, or a shared connection, is what carries this work forward. Thank you for standing with us, investing in deaf led research, and helping ensure that deaf communities are heard, counted, and included in decisions that shape their lives.
Your support makes every part of this work possible. Thank you for standing with us, investing in deaf-led research, and helping ensure that deaf communities are heard, counted, and included in decisions that shape their lives.
With gratitude,
The GDRI Team
