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EMPOWERING VOICES: Texas Hands & Voices Hosts 2nd Annual Walk for Deaf Awareness
Photography By Adrian Alfaro
On Saturday, September 30, 2023, Texas Hands & Voices (TXHV) hosted its 2nd Annual Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) Awareness Walk at the Edinburg Municipal Park. The event featured community resources, opportunities for connection, and a one-mile walk honoring and celebrating Deaf Awareness Month.
The free event was open to the community, focusing on bringing together families with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. Parents and professionals in the RGV community felt they needed more connection with other families raising deaf/HH children. Local area Audiologists, ENTs, teachers of the deaf, newborn hearing screeners, and many others also recognized the need for families to have access to resources and information about supporting their children and a sense of community.
Each year, three in every 1,000 children born in Texas are born with hearing differences, and five in every 1,000 are diagnosed with DHH by the time children reach the age of five.
Research indicates that the most important factor in predicting successful outcomes of newly identified DHH babies in early intervention is the active participation of their parents. As a family-based organization, Texas Hands & Voices offers resources and information, hosts events, and a unique free program called Guide by Your Side.
Texas Hands & Voices is a parent-led nonprofit organization providing resources, peer support, and advocacy in an unbiased manner to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing throughout Texas.
MAYOR RAMIRO GARZA JR. & DR. SHAWN SALADIN
