HEARD receives $175k grant from J.M.K. Innovation Prize
HEARD, an advocacy group for deaf people in the criminal legal system, was awarded the 2021 J.M.K. Innovation Prize and will receive up to $175,000 over three years. HEARD — this is the organization’s sign — was one of ten winners out of a pool of over 2,800 applications in the fields of social justice, the environment, and heritage conservation.
A press release announcing the award explained that HEARD is an organization that “centers language and disability justice to support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated deaf/disabled people, who face unique challenges in the criminal legal system. Because carceral institutions rarely provide accommodations to ensure language access, deaf/disabled people experience extreme communication deprivation and social isolation along with abuse and neglect while incarcerated. And the harmful effects on their emotional, mental, and physical health can persist long after they are released.”
Talila “TL” Lewis, HEARD’s co-founder and executive director, said in the release, “Every year, HEARD has to help families bury formerly incarcerated deaf people who tragically and avoidably pass away soon after being released from prison.”
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Lewis said the award will give HEARD the freedom to focus on doing their work and spend less time on raising funds.
Esperanza Dillard, a social worker with HEARD, said the goal is to make HEARD a fully funded, self-sustaining program that will support development skills of currently and formerly incarcerated deaf and disabled people. Another goal is to create a toolkit in ASL, English, and Spanish on grievance procedures in jail and prisons and other important information for those who are reentering.
Congratulations to HEARD on obtaining this award. The link to the press release is in the transcript.
https://www.jmkfund.org/awardee/esperanza-dillard-and-talila-tl-lewis/