Deaf News Briefs: Update on Coda girl who was shot; ASL App nominated for Webby Awards
Here are two Deaf News briefs.
The first is an update on Helena, the 3-year-old Coda girl who was hit in the head by a stray bullet last week in Houston. I was able to talk with the parents, Frederick and Martha Lane, this morning. They said Helena is doing good at the hospital and is able to move her left arm. They sent a short video clip.
Helena still has not woken up, but the parents say she’s showing progress and that they are putting their faith in God.
Local news KHOU 11 did coverage on the incident and said police in Harris County say they have been working every day on the case but have not yet made an arrest. I reported last week that several gunmen opened fire at an apartment complex, targeting another man, when the bullets hit the family’s vehicle.
A GoFundMe to help the family, who is homeless, find a place to live and get them a new vehicle has raised over $60,000. The organizer of the GoFundMe, Angela Eborg, who is a church friend of the family, said the funds will help the family get a vehicle because the old one was stained with their child’s blood and had shot out windows. So they may get a new vehicle.
Helena will become four on May 9. The parents said their oldest daughter, Selena (5) is doing okay but is dealing with trauma by what happened and is receiving counseling.
[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://www.convorelay.com/download ]
Sponsored Video from SquareGlow: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/153035157275 ]
The second news brief — The ASL App, an app owned and designed by a Deaf team that teaches people conversational ASL, is nominated for the Webby Awards in two categories: The Webby Award, which is selected by over 2,000 industry experts, and the Webby People’s Voice voting, which is awarded based on online votes. The Webby Awards is one of the top “internet” awards.
The ASL App team said they do not know of other deaf companies, organizations, or individuals who have been nominated for a Webby Award, so they hope to get the support of the deaf community via online votes. Voting ends May 6th. You can vote online at the link in the transcript, but you have to register for an account before voting. The ASL App is currently in second place in the “Education and Reference” apps category, between Kahoot! and the “Portal to Mars” app.
ASL App Webby Awards: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2021/apps-and-software/general-mobile-ott-apps/education-reference
About ASL App: https://theaslapp.com/about-us