JDA Magazine Paperturn Sept 2024 - Flipbook - Page 22
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DCAFE CHANGED OUR LIVES!
Sophie and Ruby, two fantastic
volunteers, tell us how JDA has made
them shine!
Tell us about your backgrounds
Ruby communicates using speech, and had
moderate hearing loss, which people didn’t
understand. She worked in retail where no
allowance was made for her hearing loss and she
really struggled. When shops were closed during
the covid pandemic, she studied British Sign
Language (BSL) Level 1 online and then went on to
achieve BSL Level 2.
JDA’s Dcafe is a social space and café for
Deaf/Deafblind BSL users, run by JDA-trained
unemployed volunteers. Ruby joined the Dcafe
Volunteer Scheme and immediately felt at home.
Sophie wanted to be an actress, and studied
Performing Arts. She started losing her hearing
at 21 and soon became profoundly deaf. Friends
and family didn’t understand her communication
di昀케culties, making life extremely challenging.
People would get annoyed with her, and she
would smile, nod and pray she hadn’t been asked
a question. In time, she withdrew from all social
situations.
Sophie came along to JDA reluctantly “to keep my
mum happy” although she didn’t believe she’d 昀椀t
as she was not a 昀氀uent signer. She immediately
felt at home and was relieved to 昀椀nd everyone so
welcoming and easy to be around.
She got a job as a barista but, again, there were
no allowances made for her deafness, making
work life very di昀케cult for her. Although she had
taught herself BSL Level 1, she still had to rely
on lipreading. She felt very isolated, lost all her
con昀椀dence and was mentally exhausted.
What do Ruby and Sophie do at Dcafe?
Sophie’s family were 昀椀nding it di昀케cult to know
how to respond to Sophie’s deafness, so we ran
an experiential Deaf Awareness course for them,
making Sophie’s family life much easier.
Ruby works on food preparation and supports
volunteers with additional learning needs. As
a talented artist, she makes sure our weekly
blackboard menu is always enticingly illustrated!
Ruby was signed o昀昀 long-term sick from work
because of her mental health issues. Whilst
volunteering for Food Bank Aid, she was looking
for somewhere to practise her BSL within a
signing community.
Sophie’s volunteering work transformed her and
she was soon promoted to Dcafe supervisor. She
jumped for joy when JDA o昀昀ered her employment,
as she was able to give up her job as a barista!
She is now part of JDA’s paid sta昀昀, helping to run
Dcafe and supporting another Sophie, a Deafblind
young mum, with everyday life.
She initially thought JDA was just for Jewish
people, or only for people who were profoundly
deaf. Luckily, she turned up one day and saw for
herself how mistaken she was on both counts!
She loves being a Support Worker and says
“It feels great being so useful, and going swimming
with Sophie and her little boy every week keeps me 昀椀t
— it’s brilliant!”
How Ruby and Sophie found JDA
16
JDATogether — Issue 48 — September 2024
