Deaf Lizards

Two youth members from Deafway Youth Service applied to Lizards Lounge for £4,000 to develop a website exploring sexual health in British Sign Language (BSL) and English, for young deaf people living in Lancashire and Blackpool.  Up to date, there has been no website dedicated for young deaf people and sexual health so the application was made to cover the gap.  They attended an interview which resembled the “Dragons Den” on BBC (hence the name Lizards Lounge for younger members!) where they presented a case for their project to be funded and were successful!

The application also covered funding for drama workshops which was delivered by qualified Deaf and hearing tutors exploring and discussing issues about sexual health including topics, dilemmas and facts/myths.  The youth group made 3 adverts which you can see from the section “workshops” looking at 3 different topics and incorporating both drama and BSL.  The workshops, website and discussions were youth-led with the assistance of the youth worker, volunteers and BSL interpreters who made it possible for the work to be done successfully.

BSL is a native and/or preferred language for deaf people and the website would reflect access for young deaf people who use BSL and/or English so that for the first time, information about sexual health would be made in their first or preferred language. All the people involved in this project gave up their time voluntarily for the filming of the clips and editing for the website. The youth group wish to thank Lizards Lounge for the opportunity to develop the project, but also to those who contributed and participated throughout.