Hearing Impaired Services Co-ordinator - Middlesbrough Council

Gill is always looking for new and innovative ways to improve communications and access for the deaf community in Middlesbrough and works tirelessly for the benefit of service users of Middlesbrough Deaf Centre. She volunteered to help the Emergency Services Strategic Deaf Forum to improve communications with the deaf community, including assessing literature to ensure they were compatible with deaf culture. Gill's knowledge and experience has been instrumental in developing new initiatives and breaking down barriers that existed between the deaf community and emergency services. Following Gill's campaigning, Cleveland Police launched a new text messaging service for deaf and hard of hearing people. This was a major achievement and the first service of its kind in the country, attracting interest from police in Canada, Ireland as well as forces from across the UK. This contribution was well outside Gill's day-to-day role and is already making a real difference to the deaf community.