__________________________________________Ask the DA

 

I recently read about a new program out of your office called DA Deafway.  As a hearing-impaired person, I am eager to learn more about this.  How can I find out more?

DA Deafway is a program designed to help the deaf and hearing-impaired community access information on programs and services that are available to them through the District Attorney’s Office.  The idea for the program came from one of my 2009 Extraordinary Women honorees, Diana Kleimenova, who has worked as a volunteer with the deaf community in Brooklyn for over 25 years. She reported that crimes against the deaf and hard-of-hearing community often go unreported. Ms. Kleimenova, whose husband and son are deaf, explained that deaf people need more programs and services readily available to them.  As a result, I created DA Deafway to provide this often underserved community with better access to my office’s programs and services and to keep those who are hard of hearing safer and more knowledgeable.

Through our DA Deafway website, people can obtain information from a deaf victim advocate and five “community ambassadors,” all of whom use sign language to educate users about specific topics including “Teens in Trouble,” “Programs for Seniors,” “Parents,” and “Drugs and Gangs.” Daisy Martinez of our Victims Services Unit is our deaf victim advocate.

Members of the deaf and hearing-impaired community can learn more about DA Deafway by going to www.brooklynda.org and following the links to DA Deafway, or by going directly to http://brooklynda.org/DEAFWAY/DADEAFWAY.HTM.

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