Deaf Community Support Center in Minnesota forced to shut down due to federal cuts to Covid-19 grants
On Wednesday, the Deaf Community Support Center in Minnesota, which is operated as an arm of Keystone Interpreting Solutions, announced that their program had their funding cut due to the Trump administration’s pulling back of $11 billion worth of Covid-19 funding that supported many organizations across the U.S. Here is an interview with Amanda Smith, who was one of the people who started DCSC in 2022.
[Begin interview]
Alex: Can you describe your position with the DCSC and KIS and how the program got started in the first place?
Amanda Smith: Absolutely. Keystone Interpreting Solutions has several core values as it is a Deaf-owned company. We value the Deaf Ecosystem so we are always looking for ways to support our community through donations, collaborations, attending events, and we hire people who are from our community in keeping with our mission. We were looking for ways to have a deeper purpose other than translating, media, and interpreting services. We were looking for grants and it’s a tough process. We found the Covid Community Coordinator grant and we though it was a good fit our our community and the resources we had. So we applied and we got approved. That’s how we came up with the idea of Deaf Community Support Center. We had a work plan from the Minnesota Department of Health, which oversaw the grant. We looked for a person to hire that would be a right fit for our community and align with our core values. I was interviewed and hired. I was a community specialist, which was before I became the supervisor. For the first two years, we started everything from scratch. We worked with the community and our goals were to address barriers in getting information and access related to Covid-19. Some didn’t understand what it is because of language deprivation. Or they didn’t have access to news or insufficient family support. There are so many different reasons. We wanted to remove these barriers, provide information in ASL, meet people face-to-face, and educate our community through various ways. It’s not just about vaccines. We talked about what Covid-19 is, why it has persisted, how we spread illnesses and how we improve our health. We talked about resources for people without insurance, interpreting access and people’s rights, transportation needs, events, and so much more. We provided creative solutions for our community.
Alex: I’m really touched. You were impacted by the Trump administration’s many cuts — they have also impacted many Deaf employees, impacted the Deaf Education Program at Columbia University, USAID and its various investments in Deaf-related programs around the world, the cuts to the Department of Education’s offices that oversaw funding for Gallaudet and NTID, and now you at DCSC are impacted. Many Deaf people and Deaf organizations have been impacted. The federal government has been a huge source of support for our community and we do rely heavily on the government, and that’s changed.
The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services said the CCC grants were a “waste” because Covid-19 is no longer as big of a threat to people today as it was in the past. What is your reaction to that? Is it still important to do work related to Covid-19?
Amanda: Yes, Covid-19 is “over” and I get that. But all the impacts from the pandemic are still there. We face it every day. Mental health issues are still there. Depression is still there. Social anxiety is still there. Trauma is there. Access is not fully there yet. That’s why we believe that DCSC should continue. I want to clarify, is DCSC stopping permanently? No. We are pausing it for a while until we find another source of funding. It’s so valuable. We have a lot of data and history that will help us to find future funding. So we are prepared.
KIS is not directly impacted by any of the funding cuts. The business, which is Deaf-owned, will continue operating as normal. KIS will always look for opportunities for funding. I know some of you are concerned and have questions or want to know about resources — you are free to contact KIS anytime through the email: info@kisasl.com. You can also check out our website at kisasl.com. We are always open to you.
[End interview]
Thank you so much for your time, Amanda.
https://www.facebook.com/DCSC.KIS/videos/1713692442856214
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-pulling-back-11b-covid-funding-sent-health-departments-us-rcna198006
https://kisasl.com/