Who is Deafersify?
Three months ago, a Merseyside karting league was set up to help deaf children and children of deaf adults.
It provides a platform where socially excluded adults and vulnerable deaf adults have a place to come and make friends.
Now the league is growing stronger and faster, with people coming from around the country to take part.
Gemma Hunter, one of the directors of Deafersify, was born deaf, but it wasn’t until she was around three years old that she was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss, as early screening wasn’t around when she was little.
Her parents had a suspicion when they shouted at her as she was running down the street, but she kept running.
Deafersify, a Community Interest Company set up in 2021, is allowed to apply for grants on behalf of the deaf community, and every penny they get supports their clients by meeting their needs. Events such as karting help.
It was set up to help fill a gap in health and well-being service provision for Deaf and Deaf/Blind adults.
Deaf people are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, social exclusion and isolation.
Speaking to Gemma, she said she wants Deafersify to be the ‘middleman’ for someone who hasn’t been involved in the deaf community before and vice versa.
She said: “We don’t want people to feel left out or excluded.
“We want to be the intermediaries to turn around and say to deaf people, you know what, you can do it and here’s the path.
“We want to help, guide, support and mentor in any way that we can across any of the activities that we do.”
TeamSport karting in Liverpool has helped Gemma and the rest of the Deafersify team to set this up alongside the support and funding of the TNL community fund.
The league, made for people 16 years and older, allows people to take part in normal activities they want to, such as karting, while keeping safe and not worrying about communication issues or any other barriers they face in everyday life.
“So far, the league has been fantastic.
“TeamSport has been super, super supportive. They’ve guided and helped us, and in return, we have taught them sign language and deaf awareness.
“In terms of the number of people coming, every expectation we have had has been surpassed.
“People are coming from miles away as there is nothing in their area, so they travel to us.”
After Gemma and deafersify realised there was nothing in Liverpool for deaf people to get involved in, they realised it was the best time for them to start something specifically for deaf people as if a deaf person wanted to join a hearing karting league there would be barriers around that.
When asked about the barriers deaf people face, Gemma said: “Communication, feeling part of a league and feeling exclusive.
“Deaf people don’t feel part of the league at all because there’s no one that they can remotely connect with.
“That’s a big barrier that deaf people feel on the whole. We scrapped that barrier when we set up our league.
“Barriers like these only remain in place as long as those with the ability to remove them continue to do so.”
Opportunities
When talking about deaf and children of deaf adults, naturally, opportunities are going to be different, but this shouldn’t be the case.
In sport, everyone should have equal opportunities. Deaf people will always have a barrier to communication.
CODA tend to have equal opportunities due to some of them being able to hear, they’re ‘stuck in the middle’ of two worlds, hearing and non-hearing.
Gemma mentioned that although CODA feels a part of the hearing world, they may not feel part of the deaf world due to those barriers.
Asking about how deaf people struggle with opportunities, Gemma said: “In terms of professional karting, how do you communicate?
“If a deaf person were racing and they won a specific race or event, unless they have a BSL (British Sign Language) interpreter with them, how would a reporter interview them and find out about the race.
“Deaf people won’t go to certain events or sports because they know about these barriers.”
With Go-Karting, there are challenges behind that for deaf people, as when they get into the kart is described as ‘pretty silent’.
“The rules and principles around health and safety, the green, yellow and red lights, all easy to follow.
To help deaf people feel that they are included in activities and sports, having a BSL interpreter available would provide support.
Hearing people are able to get information and news instantly throughout the day just by talking to people, but if deaf people don’t have that interpreter there, they miss the information, and that’s when they don’t feel a part of the event or sport.
The story behind the league
Back in 2023, The National Lottery’s Award for All grant allowed Deafersify to work with 12 deaf people.
The concept of the project was to take 12 people who didn’t drive and put them through 40 weeks of karting.
These 40 weeks allowed them to understand the basics of driving, such as manoeuvres, braking, accelerating and building their self-confidence.
Gemma and Deafersify weren’t expecting the league to be so successful and believe it can grow stronger and bring in more numbers.
A goal of theirs is to integrate with a hearing league that participates in TeamSport in Liverpool and challenge them, then expand to other teams around the country.
Deaf people can do the same as hearing people; they just need to be given a chance and an opportunity to do it.
Listen to the full interview below
