2008 Summer Picnic Photos       To read the pdf files found on this site, you will need Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded for free.

Tuesday Morning Meeting June 16th, 2009 10:30 AM - 12:00 Noon in the VRI room of HASA Open Discussion on Hearing Loss Issues   Meeting is Free and Open to the Public. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request.   Thursday Evening Meeting June 25th, 2009 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM in the auditorium of HASA "Accessibility, Assistive Listening Devices, and Life" Guest Speaker: Joe Duarte Joe will speak about various assistive listening technologies and accessibility concepts. In addition, he will also share his experience with hearing loss, learning English as a second language, use of assistive listening devices and his recent cochlear implant experiences. The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and to explore various concepts and solutions to help reach the goal of communications accessibility. Joe is the President of Duartek, Inc., a company providing engineered accessible systems to help facilities become more accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. He also provides consultation services to a very diverse group of clients. In addition, Joe's company develops custom engineered systems to make residences fully accessible for homeowners with special needs. Before founding Duartek, Joe worked for ten years as a systems engineer at IBM. He holds a degree in Biomedical Electronics Engineering from the University of Rhode Island. He is married to Meg who also has a hearing loss and teaches at Woodson High School in Fairfax County. Joe and Meg have four hearing children and live in Centreville, Virginia. Duartek, Inc. can be reached at 703-352-2285 (voice), 703-425-4596 (TTY); joe's email address is his first name followed by @duartek.com. Meeting is Free and Open to the Public. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request. The meeting will be interpreted with Sign Language and real-time captioning provided.   Save the Date! Hearing Loss Association of Greater Baltimore Chapter Picnic Saturday, July 25th, 2009 11:00 AM - Dusk   Benjamin Banneker Historical Park & Museum 300 Oella Avenue Oella, Maryland 21228 Phone 410-887-1081     FAX 410-203-2747 Who is Invited: Our Chapter welcomes anyone with a hearing loss, their friends and family as well as those with an interest in hearing loss issues. The Facilities: The small pavilion and surrounding tables for 35-40 people has been reserved for us Two grills will be set up in the area. We can bring our own grills too. The grounds are open dawn to dusk. The museum and bathroom facilities are open 10 AM to 4 PM and free to us. Parking is available in front of the museum. Come as early as you wish and stay till dusk when the park closes; we will plan to eat about 1:00 PM. What to Bring: A picnic lunch and potluck dish to share, a chair if you wish, and your preferred drinks (No Alcohol at the park). The potluck dish can bea favorite dish that can be shared with others at the picnic. If you don't have a favorite dish to share, non-alcoholic drinks are always welcome. Chapter volunteers are needed for paper goods, cups and ice, games etc. For questions and dish coordination please email Bob Leepa at rfleepa@comcast.net Cost:A donation of $5 to the chapter is suggested. Meetings are Free and Open to the Public All meetings are held at the The Hearing and Speech Agency 5900 Metro Drive Baltimore, MD  21215. Driving directions at www.hasa.org or take 695 to Exit 18 for Liberty Road East twd Lochearn go about 2.5 miles LEFT - Northern Parkway go to the FIRST traffic light LEFT - Metro Drive Go to the FIRST stop sign LEFT - Mt. Hope Drive Go to the FIRST entrance on the LEFT Park in FRONT or REAR lots (free parking) Both parking lots are equally as accessible to the entrance to The Hearing and Speech Agency Sign language interpreters provided at both meetings. Live Captioning and Assistive Listening Devices are available at the evening meetings   Upcoming Meetings June 11: Board Meeting June 16: Morning Meeting June 25: Evening Meeting: Joe Duarte; Vote for New Officials Last Saturday in July: Picnic August 6: Board Meeting   Download a Brochure about the Hearing Loss Association of Greater Baltimore

Quick Facts *U.S. People reporting use of a hearing aid: 3.6 million. *U.S. People with a profound loss: 2 million. *Average time between the onset of hearing loss and a professional diagnosis: 5 to 7 years. *Expect a 102% increase in the number of people with hearing loss by the year 2050. Closed Captioned Movies in YOUR area by Fomdi 5 mi 10 mi 15 mi 20 mi 30 mi 40 mi (For subtitled foreign movies, check The Charles Theater or the foreign movie theater in your area. For dates and times, go to our theater page. If you live outside of the Baltimore/DC area, check your local listings.)

Our Mission

Our Mission is to be catalysts who make mainstream society more accessible to people who have a hearing loss. We work at accomplishing this through education and advocacy. We are also here to offer our support and knowledge to the hearing impaired, as well as their families and friends who are also affected by hearing loss.

Our EVENING meetings are usually held on every fourth Thursday of the month at The Hearing and Speech Agency from 6:30 to 8:30. Our MORNING meetings are smaller and usually meet the third Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. There are exceptions to this schedule, so please check our calendar and events page for updated information. Since The Hearing and Speech Agency also includes a school, we will be closed when the Baltimore City Schools are closed.

At our meetings, we feature speakers who educate us about new technology, laws, resources, and many other things. Everyone is welcome to attend. CART (live captioning) is available at all evening meetings). Sign interpretation, assistive listening devices, and friendly people are available at both morning and evening meetings.

To become part of our chapter and receive emails and messages, please fill out our form and send it, along with any donations to our treasurer. Donations cover our chapter expenses, such as stamps for those who don't have email, CART services (real time caption) for our meetings, special equipment, etc. However, you do not need to donate to attend our meetings.

Many of our links take you outside of our website. You go to these sites at your own risk. Neither the Hearing Loss Association of Greater Baltimore nor the national Hearing Loss Association of America is responsible for any of these outside sites or for any damage that is incurred as a result of going to any of these outside web sites. In addition, these sites may not be Section 508 compliant.