With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Boston Resiliency Fund, Boston Lyric Opera and its partners will soon start manufacturing transparent face masks tailored to the needs of those who are deaf or hard of hearing. These populations can feel excluded during the pandemic, due to the necessity of mask-wearing to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Traditional masks with cloth fabric come with some significant downsides,” said BLO Chief Operating Officer Bradley Vernatter in a phone interview. For starters, masks block lip movements and facial expressions — which are central to the way folks with deafness communicate.
“Through doing research, we found that there was not an easy supply for individuals to purchase these transparent masks,” Vernatter added. “This changes that.”
A bulk supply of BLO’s reusable transparent masks will be sent to local organizations, like DEAF, Inc., headquartered in Allston, and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a state agency. Boston Lyric Opera will charge these organizations no more than 50 percent of each mask’s at-cost price of $25, Vernatter said. And a portion of masks will be set aside for donation.
As it turns out, the project benefits not only people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but
also the workers who make the masks. They’ll be crafted by five staff members at
Costume Works, the Somerville shop that clothes singers for BLO productions in normal
times. With live performance suspended indefinitely, shop workers can stay busy (and
stay employed) thanks to the grant-funded project.
Six months into the pandemic, skilled laborers like those at Costume Works are still
being redeployed into PPE production, Vernatter noted. “This is how they’re using their
expertise to provide the resources our community needs right now — and to stay afloat.”
Boston Lyric Opera’s director of production Jessica Johnson Brock modeled a mask manufactured especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. COURTESY BLO.
With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Boston Resiliency Fund, Boston Lyric Opera and its partners will soon start manufacturing transparent face masks tailored to the needs of those who are deaf or hard of hearing. These populations can feel excluded during the pandemic, due to the necessity of mask-wearing to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Traditional masks with cloth fabric come with some significant downsides,” said BLO Chief Operating Officer Bradley Vernatter in a phone interview. For starters, masks block lip movements and facial expressions — which are central to the way folks with deafness communicate.
A bulk supply of BLO’s reusable transparent masks will be sent to local organizations, like DEAF, Inc., headquartered in Allston, and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a state agency. Boston Lyric Opera will charge these organizations no more than 50 percent of each mask’s at-cost price of $25, Vernatter said. And a portion of masks will be set aside for donation.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/01/lifestyle/boston-lyric-opera-manufacturing-production-mask-wearers-who-are-deaf/?event=event12 3/4
Save The Date!
Also, please see the following request from Frequency Therapeutics. We heard from them earlier in the spring and they presented at the National Convention as well.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Independent Living Services invites you to – Face Masks and Hearing Loss: Practical Tips and Strategies. It is a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 10:00 – 11:00 am. The speaker will be Carolyn Ginsburg Stern from the Center for Hearing and Communication.
Sandy Unger is an American Sign Language (ASL) translator. A friend made her a clear mask and it helps Sandy in her translations in this masked, COVID-19 world. Sandy is offering the masks to you for a $10.00 donation. She is donating all the profits to Girls for Girls Uganda, an organization within ChildVoice that is assisting young women displaced by violence.
Betty Hauck wrote: 
These meetings are virtual experiences where people from the hearing loss community can come together and socially connect. They are captioned online meetings using ZOOM that include a presentation from a guest speaker, question and answer exchanges from participants, hearing health tips and more. [