Deaf Space This is our free Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) service with access to Qualified BSL communicators and interpreters. If you have hearing loss we can help you with a wide range of personal and private matters, from finances, legal matters and medical issues, to divorce and funeral arrangements. Request an Appointment From June 2024 - May 2025 this service is funded to run one day a week by Bedford Luton Community Foundation through the Frank Branston Fund. What Is Deaf Space ? Deaf Space Testimonials All Videos All Categories Play Video Play Video 01:04 2024 Deaf Space Support Areas Play Video Play Video 00:47 Barbara Our Deaf Space Advisory Service bridges the gap in support for the deaf community that statutory services and other charities often miss due to lack of BSL skills and budget for interpreters. This service provides free access to qualified BSL Interpreters and Level 3 communicators with Information, Advice and Guidance Qualifications, helping deaf individuals navigate various life challenges. The service has been in high demand since its post-COVID reinstatement, underscoring its place as an essential service for the 135,000 deaf people across the region. You can help us to continue this work by making a donation here: Donate

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Interpreting & Translation Services Our BSL (British Sign Language) interpreting and translating services are designed to bridge communication gaps and foster understanding within the community. Here's a brief overview of what we offer: Interpreting Services Qualified Interpreters: Our team includes Registered Sign Language Interpreters (RSLIs), Trainee Sign Language Interpreters (TSLIs) and Level 3+ Qualified Communication Support Workers (CSWs) and who are highly skilled and experienced in providing professional interpreting and communication services to meet your need and budget. Various Settings: We cover a wide range of settings, including medical appointments, legal consultations, healthcare settings, educational settings, workplace meetings, and community events. Accessibility: We strive to make our services as accessible as possible, ensuring that deaf BSL users can fully participate in all aspects of life, independently and without barriers. Translating Services English text to BSL: We provide translation services for converting written English documents into British Sign Language videos. This service is particularly useful for organisations that need to make their information accessible to deaf users. English Video to BSL Video: Our translators can also translate English videos to into BSL ensuring that communication is clear and understood by all parties. Closed Captions: We are also able to offer a closed captioning service when providing a BSL video translation to ensure all deaf people are included. Additonal Features Confidentiality: All of the interpreters, communicators and translators we work with adhere to strict confidentiality protocols, ensuring that sensitive information is handled with care. Custom Solutions: We offer tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of our clients, whether they are individuals, businesses, or public service providers. Support for Events: We provide interpreting services for events, ensuring that deaf attendees can fully participate and engage. Our goal is to support the deaf community by making communication seamless and inclusive, enabling everyone to thrive in their daily lives. If you have any specific needs or require more details, feel free to ask! BSL Translations Play Video Play Video Play Video Play Video Request a Quote For Interpreting / Translation Services Please take a moment to fill out the form. First Name Last Name Email Subject Leave us a message... Submit Thanks for submitting!

Community Engagement We are always happy to come and get involved in your community events. If you have a space for us to set up a table and share what we do with your teams and communities, let us know! Roughly 1 in 3 people in the UK have some form of hearing loss. You might not know who there are, but there will be people you live with, work with, study with, and socialise with, who can't hear you. People who are missing chunks of your conversation and who are exhausted from lipreading and the extra processing needed to understand you. We can help you to make them feel included, welcome and represented. Contact Us We love coming out and attending community events, meeting other service providers and making sure deaf and hard of hearing people - and the parents of deaf children - from all backgrounds know where we are and what we offer. If you have an event coming up, and space for us to set up a table, please get in touch !

Deaf Fitness Classes We offer Gentle, Inclusive Fitness classes for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Delivered using BSL, these classes are suitable for all levels of fitness and ability. We welcome hearing allies to these sessions. Classes are delivered by Michael Easton from Back to the Fitness. Where: Priory Methodist Church, 63 Newnham Avenue, Bedford When: Wednesdays ~ 10:30am - 11:15am Cost: Funds raised by our Bedford Running Festival team allows us to subsidise these classes to just £3 per person per week. No need to book, just come along and join us. Classes Start Back 22nd January 2025 Congratulations to Michael and Tara on the birth of their son!

Our Services We are committed to empowering the deaf community through our services, ensuring the 135,000 deaf people across Bedfordshire can access the support and resources needed to thrive. DEAF SPACE Free BSL-accessible information, advice & guidance. More Info DEAF FITNESS Weekly, BSL-accessible, inclusive fitness classes. More Info DEAF COFFEE MORNING Free drop in social morning for BSL users. More Info DEAFinately AWESOME KIDS Social events, BSL classes and support. More Info DEAF WELLBEING Fully BSL-accessible workshops to share information and skills More Info BSL & DEAF AWARENESS Taster classes, foundation courses and bespoke training. More Info EVENTS & COMMUNITY Working with partners to raise awareness and promote inclusion . More Info BSL CAFE Welcoming and supportive, free BSL practice and social sessions. More Info INTERPRETING &TRANSLATION Providing qualified interpreters and high quality translations. More Info

BSL Café We run a regular meet up for all BSL users, from native signers and interpreters to complete beginners. This safe, welcoming and inclusive space gives our deaf friends a welcoming place to catch up and socialise and provides our hearing allies with the opportunity to practice their BSL. The Café creates links and friendships across communities. Families welcome. Where : The Embankment Pub, Bedford MK40 3PD When: 3rdSaturday of the Month from 9:30am - 11:30am. Cost: Free! (donations welcome) (There is free parking available at Sainsburys on Bunyan Road) NEWS FLASH January Changes From January 2025 we will be at The Embankment Pub & Hotel from 9:30am - 11:30am on the 3rd Saturday of the month Saturday 18th January 2025 Saturday 15th February 2025 Saturday 15th March 2025 Note: There is access to the room without having to go through the bar. From January 2025 these sessions will be hosted by one of our deaf BSL tutors to support new learners to get the most out of the sessions. Let us know you're coming! Book online here

Introduction Welcome to Deaf Access Bedfordshire. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. Information We Collect We may collect and process the following data about you: Personal identification information(Name, email address, phone number, etc.) Demographic information (Age, gender, etc.) Technical data (IP address, browser type, etc.) How We Use Your Information We use the information we collect in the following ways: To provide and manage our services To communicate with you, including responding to your inquiries To improve our website and services To comply with legal obligations Data Security We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We have implemented suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Sharing Your Information We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to outside parties except as required by law. Your Data Protection Rights You have the right to: Access the personal data we hold about you Request correction of any inaccurate data Request deletion of your personal data Object to the processing of your data Request the transfer of your data to another service provider Changes to This Privacy Policy We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on our website. Contact Us If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at: Email: info@deafaccessbedfordshire.org.uk Address: [Your Charity’s Address] Privacy Statement

Our Team We take great pride in our dedicated team of trustees and staff who work tirelessly to support the deaf community. Our team is composed of passionate individuals, each bringing their unique skills and expertise to ensure we deliver the best services possible. Board of Trustees Our trustees include two profoundly deaf individuals, two parents of deaf children, and a registered BSL interpreter, with 80% of the team having a disability. They bring valuable lived experiences, from personal experience of deafness to supporting deaf children and breaking communication barriers. Their skills span social work, IT, finance, community engagement, interpreting, marketing, event planning, and leadership, enabling us to effectively meet the diverse needs of our community. Catherine Wright Founder & Chair of Trustees Helene Bolton Trustee & RSLI Claire Jones Trustee Ian Dellbridge Trustee Becky James Trustee

Making Bedfordshire a place where deaf and hard of hearing people can access everything needed to live, work, study, and relax. Services We Offer DEAF SPACE Free BSL-accessible information, advice & guidance. More Info DEAF FITNESS Weekly, BSL-accessible, inclusive fitness classes. More Info DEAF COFFEE MORNING Free drop in social morning for BSL users. More Info DEAFinately AWESOME KIDS Social events, BSL classes and support. More Info DEAF WELLBEING Fully BSL-accessible workshops to share information and skills More Info BSL & DEAF AWARENESS Taster classes, foundation courses and bespoke training. More Info BSL CAFE Welcoming and supportive, free BSL practice and social sessions. More Info INTERPRETING &TRANSLATION Providing qualified interpreters and high quality translations. More Info EVENTS & COMMUNITY Working with partners to raise awareness and promote inclusion . More Info Our Mission Catherine Wright, Founder and Chair of Trustees When myself and some friends founded Access Bedford (as we were known then), back in 2014 it was because we realised there was a real problem for deaf families, like mine, who were unable to access services - everything from healthcare and voting to youth groups and social and cultural support. We knew, back then that it would be a battle to change hearts and minds, but we wanted to make Bedfordshire a place where the deaf community could live, work, learn and relax and feel included. Here we are 10 years later and although there have been some really significant improvements both locally and nationally, and we have the BSL Act to support our requests for access, as a community we are also still marginalised and battling many of the same barriers. With the growth of our team, we are starting to see a shift in Bedfordshire, from support with funding, to an increase in the number of people accessing our services. I am hopeful that in the next 10 years, Deaf Access Bedfordshire (as we're known now!) will no longer need to fight to give the 135,000 deaf people in our community access to basic services, and that we will be able to focus much more on education and skills development, teaching the hearing community to sign, supporting deaf children and their families to gain early access to language, and bringing the BSL GCSE to our local schools. Find out how you can support us, here .

Deaf Coffee Morning Our Deaf Coffee Morning is a safe and welcoming place for BSL and SSE users to meet, chat and feel included. Where: The Place Theatre, Bradgate Rd, Bedford, MK40 3DE When: We meet every other Friday between 11am - 2pm at Cost: Free to attend. Tea, coffee, cold drinks and snacks available to buy at the bar, please feel free to bring your own lunch. Meeting Dates ~ Spring 2025: 10th Jan 24th Jan 7th Feb 21st Feb 7th March 21st March News Flash January 2025 New Venue LOTS of free parking. LOTS of free parking. Our Deaf Coffee Morning provides a social lifeline for Deaf BSL and SSE users, particularly those aged 50-90, combating isolation and fostering community connections. Our welcoming and friendly group helps to strengthen community ties, increase visibility, and attract new service users as the group continues to grow. People travel from across Bedfordshire - and beyond - to attend our Coffee Mornings. These gatherings are funded by dontations and the sponsorship rasied by our team at Bedford Running Festival, as well as a winter suppliment from the Welcoming Spaces grant at Bedford Borough Council. The coffee morings are held in private spaces, providing a safe place for service users to communicate in their first/preferred language without fear of prejudice or discrimination. You can support our work and enable us to continue running our Deaf Coffee Morning, here: Donate

Who are Deaf Access Bedfordshire and what do we do? Support for deaf, hard of hearing, BSL users, lip readers, hearing aid users, cochlear implant users, hearing loss. Support for adults and children. Support for families. Deaf Awareness Training for individuals, schools, nurseries, businesses and statutory organisations. BSL courses. RSLI, TSLI, Interpreters and communication support workers. About Us Deaf Access Bedfordshire provides services predominantly in Bedford Borough, but with services users traveling to us from Dunstable, Luton, Milton Keynes, Central Bedford, St Albans, Olney, Northampton, Leighton Buzzard and occasionally across from Cambridge and up from London. As a charity serving a minority community, we know that the deaf world is a small world - we welcome visitors and friends from beyond Bedfordshire as an important opportunity for our service users to access their deaf culture and society. 2013 A group of friends established a community group and youth social group for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Bedford, determined that their community should have better access to services, events, activities and education. 2014 Access Bedford was registered as a charity, and began working with local partners such as Health Watch and the Police to improve communication with the Deaf community, as well as holding a fully BSL-accessible Hustings for the candidates for the 2015 General Election, going on to hold Casino nights and Balls for fundraising and awareness events and setting up a social meeting to support older deaf people in the community. 2022 Access Bedford appointed the first paid member of staff dedicated to the charity and to promoting its aims. This came about as the ripples of the Covid-19 Pandemic were still being felt. Contacts with partner organisations had moved on, people were still nervous to come to social events, and fundraising efforts had been on hold for two years. The focus was on stability in preparation for growth. 2024 After consultation with service users, partner organisations and allies, the decision was announced that Access Bedford will become Deaf Access Bedfordshire - putting Deaf first and reaching more of the people who need us. We are very proud to have been able to grow our reach, to support 100s of service users and to have delivered BSL and Deaf Awareness training to over 2000 people in the last 4 years. We celebrated a decade of commitment to change at our AGM in May 2024 reflecting on the successes of both individuals we have supported and of the charity as a whole. KEY FACTS Some key facts about the community we serve: 18 million deaf adults 50,000 deaf children There are estimated to be over 18 million deaf adults and approximately 50,000 deaf children in the UK today. Deaf Access Bedfordshire serves an area with a total population of 675, 599 Districts of Bedfordshire With 1 in 5 people in the UK having some form of hearing loss, that gives us a potential regional population of 135,000 deaf and hard of hearing people. We want to ensure that every deaf and hard of hearing person in our region knows where they can get support, knows how to find community and commonality and shared identity, and that they feel proud to live in Bedfordshire, confident that they will be included, welcomed and understood wherever they go and who ever they meet. Size, Diversity & Living Standards Bedford Population 173,237 Central Bedford Population 285,931 Luton Population 218,045 75% white British population 25% non-white British population 90% white British population 10% non-white British population 45% white British population 55% non-white British population 51% non-deprived household 49% deprived household 54% non-deprived household 46% deprived household 41% non-deprived household 59% deprived household Luton, Bedford and Central Bedford rank 109th, 110th and 111th most deprived out of 326 regions across England. We have multiple barriers to access in our community, compounded by socioeconomic challenges, spoken language barriers, the cost of living crisis and generational trauma. The average deaf child leaves school with a reading age of nine. We need to support service providers across our region to understand these challenges and to do better. There are countless challenges for our D/deaf communities, and as a charity run by and for the community, we are very aware of where those struggles lie. However, it is important to recognise the opportunities, the positive developments in society and the strength, abilities and resilience of our community as we make plans for our place in Bedfordshire in the coming years. Our ambition for Bedfordshire is to be a region where deaf people can live, work, study, visit and age well. For it to be a place where inclusion is automatic, not asked for, and where the D/deaf and hard of hearing community are recognised for the value they bring and the contribution they make to our society.