Caregiving can be heart-fulfilling work, but it can also be challenging — perhaps even more so if you’re Deaf or living with a hearing loss.

At a Caregiver Coffee Event last week, we joined four wonderful organizations to host a special panel discussion. We shared our experiences and honored and lifted up our caregivers — which included ourselves, as many of us have been caregivers, too.

Our president, Cheri Perazzoli, was a panelist, along with Ariele Belo (HSDC), Christin Griffin (Washington State Hands & Voices), Elsa Sjunneson, and Stephanie Mathis (Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services). Thank you to all the panelists for opening their hearts and to panel moderator Bill Harkness, Boeing systems engineer and accessibility advocate.

Thank you also to King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay for joining us for a caring morning in community, and also for shining a light on the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community by sharing the event on his Facebook page. And to the many community partners and sponsors of the event: We are so grateful for you!

You can still make a gift to help the five organizations who led the event, including us and the Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center, Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS), Washington State Hands & Voices, and DeafBlind Service Center.