When Victoria State Emergency Service volunteer Shanleigh Meldrum learned her hearing had suddenly declined, her team rallied to ensure it was no barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A dual responder with VICSES Bendigo and Gisborne Units, Shanleigh is also the section leader for events and presentations at Gisborne; responsible for community engagement, fundraising and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is now also the inspiration for her team learning Auslan.
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Once her hearing began to rapidly deteriorate, during her second year at VICSES, Shanleigh worked with unit controller Mike Bagnall to come up with a strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unit agreed to pay for four weeks of Deaf Awareness and Auslan training, starting in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, a monthly refresher session has been a part of their regular meetings, and further Auslan training and interpreters have been funded by Shanleigh\u2019s National Disability Insurance Scheme plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe unit undertaking Deaf Awareness training and basic Auslan was a huge benefit to me; communicating with me is second nature to them now,\u201d Shanleigh said.
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\u201cThey know how to approach me, get my attention and communicate with me really well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMike\u2019s feeling that it was not me who needed to change, but rather that ‘we need to change for you’ really stuck with me, and everyone has benefited.\u201d
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To begin, volunteers attended four sessions, where they learned numbers, colours, and basic commands like: \u2018stop\u2019, \u2018start\u2019, \u2018go\u2019 and \u2018help\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were also taught how to \u2018finger spell\u2019 the alphabet, so they could use English language words if they lacked the Auslan gesture.
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VICSES Gisborne Unit volunteer, Tori Collins, said members were eager to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be able to communicate; having to wear a mask, Shanleigh needs to be able to read your lips to be able to interpret what you\u2019re saying. Having those common signs to use has helped us to communicate effectively,\u201d Tori said.
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As well as being able to communicate better with Shanleigh, having access to Auslan during a pandemic \u2013 where face-mask mandates prevent hard-of-hearing or deaf Victorians from lip-reading \u2013 allows volunteers to communicate, empathise with and provide reassurance to those Victorians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the sharp edge, say during a road crash rescue, it could contribute to allaying their fears, and it\u2019s only right that we should do it,\u201d VICSES Gisborne Unit deputy controller, Tobin Connell said.
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\u201cIn terms of that community service though, it\u2019s an opportunity to engage more with parts of the community we couldn\u2019t engage with before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are more than 40 volunteers at VICSES Gisborne Unit now trained in Deaf Awareness and Basic Auslan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plans are now in motion to roll out a similar program at VICSES Bendigo Unit.
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Volunteers have found acquiring even a basic vocabulary of 10 or 20 words makes all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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