Description
Information, legal advice, psychological and pension counseling will be provided online in sign language. The project will benefit people with hearing impairment who communicate in sign language and live in Mazowieckie voivodeship - 700 beneficiaries. The task will be implemented in Warsaw facility of the Polish Association of the Deaf. Specialists will be available through Skype communicator. Advice will be provided through an intermediary – sign language interpreter. The advantage of the service is the fact that it will be available from any location, via a terminal connected to the Web. Information and advice will be provided free of charge and in keeping with the principles of information confidentiality, impartiality, accuracy, and reliability, with a holistic approach. The project will help improve the quality of life of deaf residents of the voivodeship, who will be able to obtain assistance in problem solving – their legal awareness will improve. Due to language barrier, people with hearing impairment cannot benefit from similar services organized for local communities by other entities.
Summary of project results
"For deaf people, it is difficult or even impossible to use the free advisory services offered by non-governmental organisations, because approx. 85% of deaf people have problems with understanding written Polish texts using basic and specialist language. The advisory offices have no translators of the sign language. The aim of the project was to counteract social exclusion of deaf persons through offering them legal and psychological advice in the sign language, using Internet as a means of communication. As a result of implementation of the project, the scale of marginalisation of deaf people who due to language barrier could not use local advisory services decreased. They improved their knowledge about legal duties and about possibilities to pursue their rights, and at the same time they developed their digital competencies. In 5 field units of the Polish Association of the Deaf in Płock, Ostrów Mazowiecka, Mława, Żyrardów and Warsaw, trainings for deaf persons in using Skype and scanning and sending documents were organised. Short instruction films were also posted on the web page of the Association. Legal, retirement and pension, and psychological advice were given, and information were supplied on the existing regulations. Deaf persons using the sign language were given 698 advices, of which 683 to persons from Mazowieckie voivodeship, and 15 to persons from other voivodeships. 439 persons used counselling services under the project."
Summary of bilateral results