You can help DeafBlind Leadership happen NOW by reaching out to members of Congress.
Helen Keller Services (HKS), the parent organization of Helen Keller National Center (HKNC), receives federal funding, which is being renewed this year. Congress must know about the concerns that the DeafBlind community has about the selection process of the new HKNC Executive Director and its failure to uphold its commitments to the DeafBlind community. We need support from Congress to meet the DBLN petition's demands and make DeafBlind leadership happen NOW.
If you live in one of the 50 U.S. States, you have a House Representative and two Senators. Please contact them to support DBLN.
Find your House Representative here https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and send them this letter:
Dear Representative ______,
My name is ______ and live in ______. As a constituent, I am writing to express my deep concern about HR 4749 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 20231 that provides federal funding for Helen Keller National Center (HKNC). HKNC is a division of Helen Keller Services (HKS). HKS has failed to uphold its commitments to the DeafBlind community.
On July 22, 2024, HKS appointed a hearing-sighted person as HKNC Executive Director, once again passing over qualified DeafBlind candidates. In doing so, HKS broke a 10-year-old promise to elevate a DeafBlind person to the position for the first time.
In response, members of the DeafBlind community came together and signed a petition that called for DeafBlind Leadership NOW.
The petition's demands are:
1. The appointment of a DeafBlind person as HKNC Executive Director
2. HKNC is separated from HKS, and HKNC becomes its own autonomous organization.
3. HKNC's newly created Board of Trustees is made up of 70 percent or more DeafBlind members.
4. HKS and its subsidiary organizations do not retaliate against anyone affiliated with HKS and its subsidiary organizations for participating in civil action related to the Executive Director selection process.
The petition was delivered to HKS and the Department of Education on August 6, 2024. The deadline for a response from HKS was August 9, 2024. As of today, HKS has not responded to the petition.
The complete petition may be found on the DBLN website.2
Please investigate the matter and support the transition of HKNC into an autonomous DeafBlind-led organization.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Marc Safman with the DeafBlind Leadership NOW advocacy team at outreach@deafblindleadershipnow.org.
I look forward to your written reply.
Sincerely,
______
1 HR 4749 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 2023
https://congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4749
2 DeafBlind Leadership NOW
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/petition.html
Click here for a PDF of the letter you can use as a template.
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/document/Letter-to-House-Representative-v5.pdf
Find both of your Senators here https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member and send them this letter:
Dear Senator ______,
My name is ______ and live in ______. As a constituent, I am writing to express my deep concern about S. 2376 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 2023 1 that provides federal funding for Helen Keller National Center (HKNC). HKNC is a division of Helen Keller Services (HKS). HKS has failed to uphold its commitments to the DeafBlind community.
On July 22, 2024, HKS appointed a hearing-sighted person as HKNC Executive Director, once again passing over qualified DeafBlind candidates. In doing so, HKS broke a 10-year-old promise to elevate a DeafBlind person to the position for the first time.
In response, members of the DeafBlind community came together and signed a petition that called for DeafBlind Leadership NOW.
The petition's demands are:
1. The appointment of a DeafBlind person as HKNC Executive Director
2. HKNC is separated from HKS, and HKNC becomes its own autonomous organization.
3. HKNC's newly created Board of Trustees is made up of 70 percent or more DeafBlind members.
4. HKS and its subsidiary organizations do not retaliate against anyone affiliated with HKS and its subsidiary organizations for participating in civil action related to the Executive Director selection process.
The petition was delivered to HKS and the Department of Education on August 6, 2024. The deadline for a response from HKS was August 9, 2024. As of today, HKS has not responded to the petition.
The complete petition may be found on the DBLN website.2
Please investigate the matter and support the transition of HKNC into an autonomous DeafBlind-led organization.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Marc Safman with the DeafBlind Leadership NOW advocacy team at outreach@deafblindleadershipnow.org.
I look forward to your written response.
Sincerely,
______
1 S 2376 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 2023
https://congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2376/history
2 DeafBlind Leadership NOW
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/petition.html
Click here for a PDF of the letter you can use as a template.
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/document/Letter-to-Senate-v5.pdf
The letters above are samples. We encourage you to add your personal reasons for supporting DBLN to make the letter your own.
When you reach out to a member of Congress, please let us know so we can keep track. You can tell us about your outreach at outreach@deafblindleadershipnow.org.
If you want to share your reasons for supporting DBLN more directly, you can request a meeting with a Congress member. This is rock star advocacy! You can check the "request meeting" box at the end of the Congress contact form.
Questions? Need help? Contact the DBLN Advocacy team at outreach@deafblindleadershipnow.org. We would love to hear from you!
For more information on the pending legislation, the DBLN petition, the DBLN movement, and the HKNC situation, please follow these links:
H.R. 4749 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 2023
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4749
S. 2376 Helen Keller National Center Reauthorization Act of 2023
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2376
DBLN Petition
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/petition.html
DBLN Key Documents
https://deafblindleadershipnow.org/key-documents.html
