Deaf Statistics

 

In 1991 on Valentines Day Debbie Thurman (deaf) died at the age of 30 because 911 was not accessible for a deaf call for help. That tragic event changed the course of history and Signs Of Silence was born. In the following years from 1991 to 1996 we took the time to research our deaf community in San Diego and meeting very high profile deaf members in our community for advice and direction. What we found was horrible and what led us to create this agency to prevent another "Debbie Thurman" from dieing . We didn’t create something new, we just used what was already existing in our community (services), made the connections and brought every agency together to ensure accessibility. The following statistics are alarming but we are improving the quality of life for our deaf community one day at a time. Thank you for visiting us !!

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• Deaf population in San Diego County is between 500,000- 600,000  people. This includes late deafened people. Over 28 million across the US

• Unemployment for working age deaf is about 65 %

• A deaf child graduating HS, on average, will graduate at a 3rd grade level.

• A deaf child under the age of 18 is sexually abused 5 times more than a hearing child.

• Our highest social population in prisons across the Country are deaf.

• Over 90% of hearing parents with a deaf child never learns sign.

• Less than 5% of businesses comply with the ADA for accessibility for  the deaf.

• This is why we started and why we continue to operate for free. We have no paid staff, we are all volunteers making a difference every day because we choose to give back.