Agency counselors reach out to people who are deaf, as well as their family members and friends, to help them learn sign language and take advantage of the resources available in the county. These days, Cherilyn Bloodworth, an outreach specialist at DCARA, is focusing on children of all ages who are deaf.

"The goal is to get parents of deaf children together with other parents of deaf children so they don't think that they are the only ones and so they have a support system," said Bloodworth. "When the kids get older they can learn from the experiences of the other families. Part of the goal is to provide outreach for the parents—to bring them in and help them."

Counselors can be a valuable resource to a family facing the challenges of raising a child who is deaf. Bloodworth, who is deaf, knows that she can provide insight into how a deaf child may interpret the world. She can talk to parents about what it's like to grow up deaf and kids can ask her questions about things that only a deaf adult can answer.

The overreaching goal at DCARA, located at 540 Bird Ave., is education for children and parents, which the agency facilitates by providing activities that encourage kids to socialize with one another and let parents interact.

The organization has employees who are deaf and hearing. Bloodworth grew up deaf, while another counselor lost her hearing later in life. Andy Mitchell is hearing and often acts as an interpreter, using American Sign Language to facilitate conversations between a deaf person and a hearing person.

Counselors at DCARA rely on hospitals to identify deafness in infants and refer the families to their organization.

Thanks to a grant from the Healthy Neighbor Venture Fund, DCARA can reach out to the deaf community and offer counseling, employment training, interpreters and referral services. Counselors plan activities for deaf children that encourage a healthy lifestyle.

As a nonprofit agency, DCARA depends on funding from United Way Silicon Valley, the California Department of Social Services, individual grants and donations, and fundraising events.

Bloodworth says that 'the deaf community' is loosely defined and can include hearing parents of deaf children, deaf parents of hearing children and adults who have lost some or all their hearing later in life.

One of the ways DCARA is working to bring families together is through planned activities. A picnic on August 17 was an opportunity for parents, children and members of the community to come together and bond through games such as bocce ball, soccer and other physical activities. Hearing parents could practice improving their signing communication skills.

Bloodworth and a colleague plan activities and events for three Bay Area schools that have programs for the deaf: Oster Elementary School, Union Middle School and Leigh High School. The two counselors offer different perspectives on education, Bloodworth having attended a school for the deaf, while her colleague was educated through a program at a mainstream school, similar to those at Oster, Union and Leigh.

Private tutoring also is available to families who have a deaf person in the home and want to learn sign language. An instructor teaches the family in their own home so members can quickly learn the basic communication skills needed in a family environment.

This chapter of DCARA has been in its Willow Glen location on Bird Avenue for more than seven years, yet employees don't feel as though residents know who they are and what they do. They are aware, however, that there are people in the Bay Area dealing with many hearing loss issues and could use their resources.

Established in 1962, DCARA is one of the first deaf-run agencies in the country. The organization, which provides a wide range of services to deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the Bay Area, has as its goal enabling the deaf and hard-of-hearing community to live independent, productive lives with full access to the services and opportunities available to the hearing population.

For more information about DCARA, call 408.298.6770 or visit www.dcara.org.