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Eden Housing leads the way in accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people
Eden Supported Housing, which helps people with disabilities live in their own homes, has proven its commitment to providing deaf and hard of hearing people in the housing sector greater accessibility to work and all its services, by achieving charity RNID's Louder than Words charter mark. Louder than Words - is a best practice charter for organisations that offer a high level of deaf aware services for deaf and hard of hearing staff and customers, and is recognised by deaf and hard of hearing consumers and employees. RNID offers the 'Louder than Words' charter mark so that the one in seven people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing have equal access to work opportunities and the same levels of service as the rest of the population, whilst ensuring all changes are inexpensive, cost effective, appropriate and easy to implement. As a provider of supported living services for deaf and hard of hearing people and an employer of deaf staff, Eden felt it was important to demonstrate their dedication to providing deaf and hard of hearing people access to their service on an equal basis with hearing people. Some practical changes the organisation has made include using vibrating pagers, a portable 'loop' system to complement the fixed system already in place which allows staff to hold meetings in several locations of the premises, and purchasing a 'loop tester' along with implementing a 'loop' testing procedure to ensure the time, money and effort continue to be put to best use. Andy Callow, a Service Manager with Eden who has had an important input into this process said: "It has been a very valuable experience, resulting in a number of changes to the way in which we provide our services". "Even though we felt that Eden was already a 'deaf aware' organisation, the Louder than Words charter has helped us to make our organisation even more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people. The process was a very positive one and the RNID was helpful and supportive. We would recommend the award to other organisations." To find out how your organisation can achieve the Louder Than Words charter, contact Shelley Parker on 01332 915 930 or email shelley.parker@rnid.org.uk
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