Sharon Duchesneau: It’s May Mental Health Awareness Month. Here at Deaf Counseling Center, we want to make the most of it. It’s not news that hearing people don’t understand Deaf people’s needs when it comes to counseling. Insurance companies, doctors and government programs are not aware of the barriers Deaf people face when trying to find counseling. For instance, insurance companies will often refer a Deaf person to a hearing counselor whom they think can sign. Upon meeting the counselor, however, it’s clear that ASL fluency is not there. Other times, Deaf people are referred to counselors who provide interpreters. It’s not very comfortable going through a third-party to talk to a counselor though. This is our opportunity to educate hearing people about the unfair barriers we face. We want all of you to get involved with this awareness campaign. You will even have the opportunity to win a brand-new iPad that comes with an Apple pencil and a really good camera that you can use for counseling sessions or anything else. If you win, but don’t need an iPad, you can give it someone who would benefit from it. So, what do you need to do? Download and print the picture that says “Deaf Counseling Center, I SUPPORT, etc.” If you don’t have a printer, you can write out the sign using the exact same words. Take a close-up picture of yourself holding the sign. Post it on Facebook or Instagram with these three hashtags: #TherapyTheDeafWay, #AccessToDeafCounselors, #DeafCounseling. Tag @DeafCounseling, follow us on Instagram @DeafCounseling, and like us on Facebook. Make sure your setting are public, otherwise, we won’t be able to find you if they are private. This campaign will last for a month. Get your friends and family to join so we can make noise on social media and educate everyone. At the end of the month, we will pick a winner. Looking forward to it!