Advocacy Organizations

There are numerous organizations that provide advocacy and information for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Many of these organzations have local chapters and provide resources to help you navigate legal and regulatory requirements.

• Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss- provides information, promotes advocacy and mentorship, and creates a network for individuals with hearing loss interested in or working in health care fields.
• National Association of the Deaf - civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the U.S.
• Hearing Loss Association of America - organization representing people with hearing loss.
• Resource Centers for Independent Living - provides leadership to advance the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and press for social progress that allows for all human beings to be participating members of society.
• National Black Deaf Advocates - the official advocacy organization for thousands of Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans
• Offices of Vocational Rehabilitation Services - Coordinates and provides counseling, evaluation, and job placement services for people with disabilities.
• Equal Opportunity Employment Commission - esponsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
• Society of Health Care Professionals With Disabilities www.disabilitysociety.org - The Society of Health Care Professionals With Disabilities offers resources and support for disabled health care professionals including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and students. A free membership is available atwww.disabilitysociety.org.

• NCDHR (https://www-staging.rit.edu/ntid/healthcare/national-center-deaf-health-research) - NCDHR’s core research project involves designing and administering a Deaf Health Survey to the deaf community. These data provide statistics, which can help public health officials find ways to optimize the community’s health and lifestyle. These results have been shared with the deaf community at town hall meetings in 2008 andpublished on the NCDHR website and in different journals. Current and future goals of NCDHR consist of promoting health within the deaf community, including decreasing obesity through theirDeaf Weight-Wise Project. In April of 2011, NCDHR won a National Excellence Award for, “putting participatory research into action.”