The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

10 uw = 5 Continued from page 1 bed Sumaira Shaheryar, tryi 4 concent of Islam to se deat son was an uphill struggle, Oakville Beaver | Thursday, March 9, 2023 3 despite knowing some sign language. There also weren't with available ASL inter- preters, "so my son was very much reluctant to go," said Shaheryar, Whose son, Soleman, went to .C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milto1 Things took a positive turn when the family learned about the Deaf Muslims of Canada (DMC) around six years ago and started attending classes and events. The charitable organi- zation aims to "make the religion of Islam accessible to the Deaf and hard of hearing community of all ages," said program man- ager Shahinda Hamdy. "The inspiration was ba- sically the need to pave an organization les and works. toward making this accessibility happen. Unfortunately, i its not the thought that co! across the hearing commu- nity," Hamdy explained. In addition to raising awareness about the im- portance for organizers to provide ASL interpreters — with budget and fret Deaf Muslims of Canada holds a recent training session. —— “They really played a major role in changing my son's religious life." - Sumaira Shaheryar Islamic classes for fami- lies, teaches parents ASL and hosts workshops. me of the free sign language sessions son. “It was such a tear-jerk- ing moment," she said. "It was beautiful.” For some families with deaf children, communica- tion barriers — including on the topic of religion — can cause a buildup of frus- tration. “That's where you need _— for example — to have unity classes acces- sible with an interpreter where the child can basi- cally learn and ask the questions and get full ac- cess to the information, not bits and pieces," " she said Hamd! that Hamdy seeing a neweomer f father i "Tl knowing ir main Sbstacles - the organization also runs (@) OAKVILLE using sign language f for the first time to his teenage need for families to com. municate openly and their rights on accessibili- ty, and reach out to various organizations that could help break the barriers. Over time, DMC has be- come a hub for Deaf Mus- lims to socialize and make connections, with people coming from the GTA and beyond to participate in classes or bea part ote a cer- tain event, Hamdy While the eal ete had put a pause on in-person activities with a pivot to on- e, the organization has been gradually resuming them. Shaheryar family said they attended two clas- ses in ent mc is, in- cluding one in the Islamic Community Centre of Mil- te Soleman, 19, who goes to Mohawk College, Deaf Muslims of Canada photo has developed friendships outside of school with peo- ple from different sides of the country through con- nections at Deaf Muslims of Canada, said his mom. “They Yeally played a major role in changing my son's religious life," she added. OTHER CHALLENGES For Deaf and hard of hearing youth, the barriers and gaps have been docu- mented in an April 2022 re- port by Silent Voice Cana- da in tandem with several organizations. Among the concerns, the report highlighted the lack of access to education, ca- reer development, informa- tion and communication, oakville.ca PROGRAMS HELPING BOOST ACCESSIBILITY and goods and services — as well as opportunities to develop vans life skills. Iso flags the risk of isolation, the lack of mendation, the report calls for the creation of an out- reach program and online resource hub. RESOURCES FOR NEWCOMERS For Deaf newcomers with no formal ASL or En- glish knowledge, help is available through organi- zations like Canadian Hearing Services, aah offers free Langua; in- struction to Nazaaee to Canada (LINC) program- ming funded by Immigra- tion, Refugees and Citizen- ship Canada that provides opportunities to improve their language skills and other life skills. Lisa Flowers, communi- cations manager, said in an email that “apart from the complexities of language," they also assist Deaf and hard of hearing newcom- ers overcome barriers spe- cific to the newcomer expe- rience through their Settle- ment Program for New- comers to Canada. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We wanted to examine some of the barri- ers that the Deaf and hard- of-hearing community is facing and what is being done about it. fe AG) insidehalton.com Development, either in hard copy or in electronic format, must be forwarded to the Clerk’s department for receipt no later than noon on April 3, 2023, to ensure its availability to the Commissioner of Community Development at the meeting. Individuals wishing to make an oral submission at the public meeting are strongly encouraged to contact the Clerk's Department by noon on April 3, 2023 by email to: TownClerk@Oakville.ca or all 005-815: 6015 to register as a delegation and to obtain instructions on how to participate. All submissions should include the full name and address of the presenter. For more information about this matter, including information about preserving your appeal rights, you may view the information on the Town's website, or contact Catherine Buckerfield, Senior Planner, Building Services department at 905-845-6601, ext. 2084 (TTY 905-338-4200) or at catherine. buckerfield@oakville.ca. lf you have any accessibility needs, please advise Catherine Buckerfield one week before the meeting. The personal information accompanying your submission is being collected under the authority of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended, and may form part of the public record which may be released to the public. Dated at the Town of Oakville March 9, 2023.