Why I am learning BSL

[Yinka]

Hello I'm Yinka, I got interested in BSL about 3 years ago before covid as I had been developing hearing problems and I am a fan of learning languages then I realised I could learn sign language by this time i had gotten very invested and interested at learning the language I was watching youtube videos on it about every day as i was learning the more my hearing went and I was denied medical health for my hearing due to me not being 18 at the time which i thought was unfair. I want to become a mental health nurse and as my hearing was going I thought that I would have to quit on my dreams due to me turning hoh but then I found out that I could be a mental health nurse that focuses on deaf and hoh patients and I started to think if the community even had those kinds of treatment then i found out about deaf camhs and other deaf mental health services. After that I noticed that there was an unfair barrier but in place for deaf/hoh people as they have to have interpreter when going to hospitals and the overall language barrier is unfair so i joined this organisation called BSMHD which helps bring mental health service and health service more accessible to deaf people, i hope to become fluent in the language and help the deaf community to have accessible health care