Here at Hall High School, a student by the name Jhanea Bellamy had a thoughtful idea to bring young girls together who are deaf and hard of hearing. After two years of gathering information and making preparations to move forward: the group launched in February 2016. This group meets approximately twice a month. This February the group celebrated their first anniversary where they met last year.  

The group name is “We listen through our eyes”. Collectively at the group’s’ first meeting the name was chosen by the girls who attended. The meaning of the name is based on young girls who struggles with their hearing loss and their need for a young adult role model who can be someone for them to look up to and communicate with . Jhanea Bellamy has proven to be the perfect candidate for the job as she became all of the girls role model through becoming their pin pals writing them and responding to their personal questions before starting the group. The girls state that they love coming together, uniting and meeting more young girls who are going through the same situation.

The meaning of the title is that deaf and hard of hearing people, especially those who are young, struggle to hear. They use their stronger sense by listening with their eyes. The members struggle but don’t give up, they keep their faith and still continue to work hard and not complain. During meetings, the girls are reminded of acts of kindness and that it is important to help others. Showing the group as they grow they can help other children who are also going through the same situations.

The girls in the group are Alexia DeMattia , Bella Mantilla and Lindy Quach. Through conversations with the group, the girls shared that they are going through a lot and do not have anywhere to express their feelings. When the girls meet; they come together, can be themselves and can be free. Alexia states that she feels that she doesn’t have to hide anything.

“I like our group” Bella said.  The girls are very close and are forming long life relationships.

This group’s impact on the girls makes them feel like they are not alone. When asked what they like most about the group, they said that they loved doing fun activities such as ice breaker questions and the game two truths and a lie. The girls also enjoyed talking about losing their hearing aids and thought the topic was funny with lots to say. When interviewing  Alexia, one of the girls in the group about her experiences; Alexia said that she likes talking to other girls about her hearing loss and enjoy the fact that the others in the group can relate to her.  She also reported that the group makes her feel comfortable because they all share the same loss.  Alexia was asked in what other ways did she find the group helpful and she reported that she has a new friend who also has a hearing loss and was able to approach her friend with confidence.  Alexia

You can see that Alexia has had a positive experience in the girls group and it has impacted her life. Hopefully, this group can continue to influence young girls and make them more confident and successful.

Alexia stated that she once refused to wear hearing aids because she struggled with be different from her peers but one she heard about the group she realized that there were girls in her community with a hearing loss as well.