Your April RNID Newsletter

Get ready for Deaf Awareness Week, find out about our BBC Appeal, and celebrate our amazing London Marathon runners!

View in browser

Get ready for Deaf Awareness Week

Next week is Deaf Awareness Week (4-10 May) and we can’t wait! It’s a chance to recognise the experiences of people who are deaf or have hearing loss, and reflect on the barriers faced every day.

There are plenty of ways for you to get involved next week - from hosting an Afternoon Tea for RNID, where every sip of tea and every slice of cake can make a difference, to learning simple BSL phrases and communication tips to help include everyone in the conversation. Find out more today!

Find out more

A BBC Radio 4 Appeal. Image of singer-songwriter KT Tunstall

Catch us on BBC Radio 4

Tune in to BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 3 May (7.54am and 9.25pm) and Thursday 7 May (3.27pm), when Brit Award-winning and Grammy®-nominated singer-songwriter KT Tunstall will present an appeal to help raise funds for RNID. KT will share insight into her own story, before introducing Charlotte, an RNID supporter who was diagnosed with severe hearing loss in their childhood and faced years of bullying. As an adult in their thirties, Charlotte found a local RNID Near You service and received information and support that completely transformed their life. Learn more about the appeal here, and don’t forget to tune in! You can also watch the appeal in British Sign Language here from Sunday 3 May.

Learn more

Illustrated group of four people in conversation on a green background. Two are communicating using British Sign Language, and two are wearing hearing aids.

Calling for urgent action on Access to Work: help us drive change

The Access to Work scheme is meant to remove barriers to work for disabled people, not create them. New research from RNID and DeafATW shows that serious failures in the scheme are risking shutting deaf BSL users out of work. Over a third of BSL users had their support changed at renewal without changes to their circumstances or work needs, long delays left people with a gap in workplace support, and many missed training and development opportunities, leaving them unable to fully participate and progress in the workplace. The Government must act now to make the scheme accessible and fair. Write to your MP and call for urgent change.

Help us drive change