Fall 2007
Community Comes Together at the 29th Annual Deaf-Blind Retreat
For the 29th consecutive year, the Seattle Lighthouse hosted a completely accessible week-long retreat designed expressly for Deaf-Blind adults. Sixty-seven Deaf-Blind participants and 119 volunteers from across the nation came together for the week to connect with and learn from each other.
The retreat is an essential part of the Seattle Lighthouse mission to serve the needs of our region’s Deaf-Blind community. It is the only resource of its kind in the Puget Sound area. The retreat is completely accessible, providing sighted guides and interpreters, assistive listening devices, walkways with a complete rope guide system, and other assistive technologies to the attendees.
Because many Deaf-Blind adults rely on touch and vibration for mobility, this year’s retreat highlighted various kinds of vibration. “This included drumming, musical dance, and GPS systems and technology which use vibration to operate. It also included internal energy vibration in Qi Gong classes, waves at the beach from jet skis, and the ‘good vibrations’ that come from being connected with other people,” says Tami Berk, program manager. “Also, attendees have the opportunity to take part in many non-competitive activities, such as swimming, biking, workshops, arts, and cooking classes.”
Retreat highlights included a workshop on research into the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with the latest updates, a drumming workshop Monday evening with 180 percussive instruments, a Qi Gong and reflexology workshop, and a visit from President George Jacobson and President-elect Kirk Adams. “We made plaster castings of George and Kirk’s hands and will develop them into an art piece highlighting the handing off of leadership from Kirk to George,” Tami says. Another event highlight involved the lunar eclipse Tuesday night. Twenty-two people ventured out in the early morning to view the moon through high-powered telescopes as it moved into the earth’s shadow.
The retreat gave many Deaf-Blind people the chance to explore the latest assistive technology advances. “There has been a growing passion for technology at the retreat each year,” Tami says. “We had a braille GPS workshop presented by two users of braille GPS devices and we had a technology display day with lots of equipment related to technology and mobility.”
As always, the retreat offered participants the opportunity to connect with their community. “The paramount reason that people come to the retreat, no matter how many times they come, is the interaction, the contact,” Tami says. “The retreat started as the Deaf-Blind community began to develop and people realized they needed to get together outside of work— to get together and really develop close bonds.”
What’s next for the retreat? Next year’s retreat will mark its 30th year in existence. We have big plans for this special anniversary where we will celebrate the many people who helped to build the retreat through the years. We expect to see friends both new and old at next year’s retreat. We’ll be sure to keep you updated in future issues of Horizons as we gear up for our 30th year.
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