September, 2021 - Mecklenburg County Blog

Month: September 2021

We’re Up All Night!

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September 29, 2021 2:02 pm

When you think of the County, your first thought is probably 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. But some of our departments are working some unusual hours.

We’ll go ahead and get this out of the way: You can use our website any time you want. That’s our number one, super-secret (OK, not at all secret) tip. But there are other County services and staff at work during unusual hours — some even in the middle of the night. This list isn’t all-inclusive (that would get boring fast!), but we’ll walk you through a few that might matter most to you.

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Health and Human Services Resources

How Abuse May Look Different for People who are Deaf, Deafblind, or Hard-of-Hearing

Nicole Nolen

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September 21, 2021 7:09 pm

Written by Betsy Abraham, Community Support Services

Escaping a domestic violence relationship is never easy. But, it’s even harder when you can’t communicate with police officers or have to rely on your abuser to translate for you. This is the challenge many Deaf, Deafblind, and hard-of-hearing people face.

There aren’t many studies on domestic violence in the Deaf, Deafblind, and heard-of-hearing community. But one report shows they were 1.5 times more likely to be victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, psychological abuse, and physical abuse. The Justice for Deaf Victims National Coalition says over 60% of Deaf individuals have experienced, or will experience, abuse by a partner in their lifetime. That’s a pretty astounding percentage.

So how does this abuse look different than in the hearing community? How can we help? Let’s dive in.

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