Where have we come from?

Deaf people and or Deaf issues has not been a lifelong involvement for Rachel Hubbard; founder of Deaf Umbrella.  When an immediate family member lost their hearing due to a medical blunder some 27yrs ago her family struggled to know what to do, jobs were lost, emotional reactions encountered and communication methods needed to be addressed.  This is how Rachel became involved in the Deaf community. 

Rachel's family pulled together and began to learn to lip-read and joined a local  sign language class where the tutor taught the family how to cope with the changes they had encountered and those yet to encounter!  They strengthened as a family and found sign language was fun, hard work and rewarding.  They solved problems and strengthened relationships, they met wonderful people, learnt about themselves and made great friends along the way. 

Why Deaf Umbrella?  Well, Deaf Umbrella came from a good idea, and like many good ideas it always seems so obvious when it has been done!  We listened to D/deaf people complaining about the services available to them.  We saw and felt their frustrations regarding the long waiting times for interpreter services. We agreed about shortages of Interpreters, like so many others, but instead of joining the bandwagon we grasped the opportunity to employ some of the people we talked with.  The key employees had many years combined life experience with Deaf people, the recruitment industry and business.  This meant that the directors and team at the top of Deaf Umbrella had all the ingredients and determination to launch a company that would provide a first class service of short notice communicator assistance.  In the millennium year Deaf Umbrella were the first agency to provide this service; and ahead of time!

And now..  Deaf Umbrella provide a solid support network to staff that in turn serves the D/deaf community efficiently and effectively.  Deaf Umbrella believe, see, hear and know that trained professional, committed and motivated people climbing the career ladder of the Interpreter offer a level of competence that can alleviate frustrations in situations where D/deaf and hearing people interact.

Deaf Umbrella know that we can and will raise the standards of communication support by encouraging those people who work unregulated to join our team and gain a home.  Our unique training package has seen several employees raise their standards and give them valuable experience and confidence to move onto interpreter training.  We are very proud to say that we have been a source of advice, support and much needed experience to people who become the Interpreters of tomorrow. 
 

How about Courses?

Yes, Deaf Umbrella offer Deaf Awareness Courses and Sign Language Courses. We tailor these to each unique environment an employer or employee may have.  We assist through education. 

Deaf Umbrella will listen to your needs and sharpen our focus so that we offer empowerment to employees and companies to deal with language barriers confidently and professionally.

We are dedicated to British Sign Language (BSL) The education of Deaf Culture and Deaf Awareness.  This service is the completion of the circle of assistance we provide.

Deaf Umbrella is a private ltd company and an employment business.
                                                                          

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