Charity celebrates 20 years of helping deaf people

Zebra Access has been supporting the deaf community in Wolverhampton and the Black Country for 20 years

A charity that has been supporting deaf people in Wolverhampton and the Black Country for two decades is celebrating its anniversary.

Zebra Access, which is based in Wolverhampton, provides support for deaf people.

On Saturday, the charity hosted a 20th anniversary celebration at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton, with hundreds of adults and children in attendance.

Speaking to the BBC, managing director Bob Marsh and heritage project officer Robyn Swannack discussed the charity's work and the impact it had on the local community.

Set up in June 2005 with a small number of staff, Mr Marsh said Zebra Access formed because "the local community needed specialist support".

Over the years this has included employment advocacy, health and wellbeing support, and social events.

In terms of how the charity provides advocacy, Mr Marsh said: "It's really important for the deaf community to know they've got support if they don't understand legal letters, essentially from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and tribunals and things like that."

Zebra Access was founded in 2005 by Nikki Stratton and Marilyn Willrich

He also spoke of the charity's importance addressing the isolation deaf people felt during and after the Covid-19 pandemic

"A lot of deaf people became isolated during Covid and obviously they couldn't pick up the phone and talk to relations and friends," Mr Marsh said.

"So they became really isolated and fearful of catching Covid.

"When lockdown lifted they were still very fearful of going out into community - so we provided essential support for people to help remove that isolation and vulnerability."

The charity runs special trips to tourist or historical sights, such as this one to the set of Coronation Street

The charity runs regular coffee mornings for the local deaf community, with Ms Swannack saying: "It's not just for people who are deaf, it's people who are deaf and blind, people who have hearing loss and became deaf over time - all different communication needs.

"There's a huge change in confidence for people in the group now.

"Seeing them from then to now, they're so much more confident and happy to communicate with each other and others."

Bob Marsh (left) said he loved helping deaf people into employment

As well as its advocacy, wellbeing and social work, Zebra Access is also running a two-year heritage project, called 100 Years of Walsall Deaf Community Heritage Project.

The project delves into the past of the Walsall Deaf Club, which operated from 1919 to 2019, and the work it did to support the local deaf community.

"The heritage is so rich, so many events were hosted there," Ms Swannack said.

"Princess Diana visited the nearby Mulberry House [a residential home which provides 24-hour support to adults who are deaf or deafblind].

"The deaf club was nearby and deaf people attended the visit. There was a deaf choir during her visit too."

She added: "It was a real home for the deaf community."

The project will culminate in the release of a digital film next year, including interviews with 15 people who grew up in Walsall and went to the club.

Zebra Access also hopes to expand the heritage project to the wider Black Country community, to include people in Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell.