Ultimately, from an impression made at an NDSC seminar to the ideas and plans it realised, DAWN was successful in securing funding for our project, basing the way forward on 4 main objectives: -

a) To promote BSL and enable members of both the hearing and Deaf communities, who would not otherwise have either the means or the opportunity, to learn British Sign Language. To give this skill to people able to take it back into the community and make a difference in peoples’ daily lives.

b) To teach and promote Deaf Awareness to compliment the BSL skills gained.

c) To establish an environment where views, experiences and information could be exchanged between families and individuals affected by hearing loss. This would include children.
Bob and Terry were both amazed at the amount of information and help that was available to them that they were not aware of, until they attended the weekend run by the NDCS. It equipped them for the future struggles they were to have with the local authority and they realised how important a local network for exchanging such information is.

d) To establish a local permanent group where members of both the hearing and deaf communities, of whatever age, could socialise together. A group where communication between members would be enabled through the skills taught at the group. A local group for establishing new friendships and contacts that would not have been possible before.