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Social Work Services
The Social Work team provides a social work service for profoundly deaf people living in the Leeds metropolitan area, and was established in 1948. We work in partnership with Leeds Social Services. The service aims to provide confidential services to all Deaf people who require them.
The team
The team currently consists of five full-time workers: three qualified social workers and two social work assistants. All hold at least the Stage Two qualification in CACDP. The Social Work team members each have their own particular area of responsibility: mental health, elderly people, young people and deaf children and families.
Welfare Rights Service
We provide a comprehensive city-wide Welfare Rights Service for Deaf people and their families in the Leeds Metropolitan Area. We aim to ensure that our service works within an anti-oppressive framework, and we are committed to actively implementing our Equal Opportunities Policy and Social Model of Disability. Our service is free, confidential and accessible. We offer advice and information on many issues, such as:
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Welfare benefits
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Housing
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Employment
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Debts
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Consumer rights
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Deaf issues
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Access issues (e.g. communication and deaf awareness)
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Tribunal representation.
Link organisations
We aim to provide the best possible information on the issue of deafness, but if we are unable to help then we will refer you to another organisation who may be in a position to help. The links we have are with the following organisations:
Contact details
The Social Work team can be contacted via the office - click here for details.
Office duty
The office opening times are as follows:
Monday 10.00 - 5.00
Tuesday 9.30 - 5.00
Wednesday 9.30 - 5.00
Thursday 9.30 - 1.00
Friday 9.30 - 4.30
The office duty is for deaf people who can drop in and wait for an on-the-day appointment. We advise you to make an appointment if you have had no previous contact with any of our social work team; this is in order to enable us to give you a comprehensive assessment of your needs, which will take some time. If a home visit would be more convenient for you, it can be arranged.
In the office
Out-of-hours duty
To complement the office-hours service, a full-time out-of-hours service is also provided. A Social Worker with Deaf People is available 24 hours a day, for emergency only. The social worker can be contacted via a pager. The telephone number for the pager is 07659 106595.
Consultation with the service users
A Deaf Services Advisory Group has now been formed; it meets at least four times a year, and there is one open meeting in May. We aim to provide a good quality service by listening to the users and representatives of each of the different Deaf communities, from young Deaf people to senior citizens.
Feedback
If you are happy with the services you have received, please tell us so. However, if you have a negative comment or complaint, there is a video available for loan, in British Sign Language and with subtitles, telling you how to contact us and how to follow the complaints procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. ‘My child has been diagnosed as severely deaf. I don’t know what to do next.’
A. If you contact the Social Work team, you will be referred to the social worker with parents of deaf children, who will be able to give you comprehensive information and will be in a position to help you to come to term with your child’s deafness.
Q. ‘I am a elderly Deaf person and I have difficulty in living on my pension. Is there anywhere I can get some extra help?’
A. The social worker whose area of speciality is working with the elderly will be able to help you by checking if you are receiving the right amount of pension and if there are any extra benefits that you might be entitled to. The social worker will assist in completing the benefit form if necessary.
Q. ‘I am Deaf, and I am leaving school in the summer and am not sure what I would like to do when I leave. I am a bit worried about becoming an independent person in the real outside world which I will have to face.’
A. You will be referred to a social worker who deals with young people. You will be given any information that you will need to know. The social worker will introduce you to the right people, such as employment services, if you require help in deciding what job you would like to do.
Q. ‘I lost my hearing a short while ago and I have an appointment to see the specialist. I find it difficult to come to terms with my deafness, and I don’t think I can cope with the extra trauma involved in going to hospital and seeing the specialist, as I am having difficulty in communicating with them.’
A. Coming to terms with hearing loss is not a easy task. We do try and help you to find a way to come to terms with the loss. We will accompany you to the specialist if needed, and in particular we will assist you in every possible way with communication. We will endeavour to make sure that during your visit you feel comfortable and that you can follow what is happening.
A comment from one of the service’s users:
‘Centenary House is my lifeline - I’d be lost without them.’