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While the message of "don't suffer in silence" is one heard during May's Mental Health Awareness Month, deaf community advocates say mental health care needs to change to include everyone, not just those who can speak.
"Constantly being told no is something that you just get used to," said Cameron Symanski, Olathe Club for the Deaf president.
Symanski was born deaf, and an interpreter voiced his thoughts for this interview.
"Mental health services and getting any sort of support care, it should be prioritized," Symanski said.
The deaf and hard of hearing community don't have the same resources that the hearing community does, yet they face the same challenges.
"Suicidality, self harm, depression, the deaf community has higher incidences of that," said Kelsey Stock, who works with the Kansas Commission for the Deaf.
She says the biggest challenge is language deprivation.
"If they don't have full language, then they can't even understand their own thoughts and actions and have autonomy over, you know, their body and their feelings," Stock said.
Stock became an advocate for mental health after witnessing challenges faced by her own family.
"When my son was two years old, we were trying to find a play therapist for him, and he was born with hearing loss. He's profoundly deaf, and we use ASL at home, and so I struggled finding a therapist who would be willing to work with us," Stock said.
Stock and Symanski believe part of the issue involves lack of knowledge around ADA guidelines and the ability to get an interpreter.
"It shouldn't be a barrier that you're providing an interpreter," Symanski said. “It’s the barrier for individuals not to receive these services.”
According to Stock, there are only three signing mental health providers within 60 miles of Kansas City. She says that's not enough.
"People who are deaf have to deal with this every single day, and it's exhausting," Stock said.
The two want people to be aware of these issues and hopefully make mental health services easier to find, so the next time someone needs help they won't have to suffer in silence.
"Good changes that are happening... but there are still barriers there," Symanski said.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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