Local sensory charity marks Deafblind Awareness Week with special event
Forth Valley Sensory Centre logo.
A charity that supports thousands of people with sensory loss in the Forth Valley has helped mark Deafblind Awareness Week with a special event at their Camelon hub.
Forth Valley Sensory Centre (FVSC) worked with Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership on a celebration to mark the week. The charity also wanted to raise awareness of some of the issues and barriers faced by people who have both sight and hearing loss. The event marked the first day of Deafblind Awareness Week, on Monday, June 24.
speech to a room full of people sitting at tables. The speech is being signed.
Deafblind centre users and all the deafblind clients from the charity’s sensory team came to the centre for fun activities, food and drink and entertainment. The centre was decorated in the deafblind colours of red and white, and organisers added accessible and interactive decorations such as balloons with bells inside. There was fun for all with tactile games and interactive activities, including a senses table with a selection of different plants from the centre’s kitchen garden to stimulate all five sense, as well as a buffet lunch for everyone who came. A band from Falkirk High School played a number of traditional classics to keep people entertained.
Band performing in a garden.
FVSC has supported people with sensory loss and their families who live in central Scotland, including Stirling and Clackmannanshire, for more than 15 years. It acts as a community hub, offering support, advice, practical help, and social opportunities. The centre has around 20,000 visitors every year and is funded by a mix of statutory funding and donations. The charity was recently awarded £200,000 for three years from the National Lottery Community Fund to tackle isolation and loneliness caused by sensory loss, and new services will take place in community venues and hubs throughout the area to increase access and availability.
Jacquie Winning MBE, Forth Valley Chief Executive“This was a wonderful and successful event held in collaboration with Falkirk Council Sensory Team. The day was a huge celebration of the deafblind community and everything they do. We are really proud to play our part in the celebrations and would like to thank all our partners for their support.”
Natalie McKechnie, sensory services team manager at Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership"Our Deafblind Awareness Week 2024 party, hosted by the Falkirk Sensory Team and FVSC, was a tremendous success. Our clients thoroughly enjoyed the celebration, filled with joy and community spirit, making it a truly unforgettable event for all.”
5 senses table with plants.
David Black, who is both deaf and blind, and volunteers at the centre as well as using its services“I enjoyed the event, it was very well organised and I was made to feel welcome. The food was lovely and as a lactose intolerant person I was catered for and my meal was very enjoyable. The live band was very entertaining, and I also found the table with plants to simulate different senses very accessible and a joy to take part in”.
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