Sheridan – “I moved to this area when I was 7 with my Mum from Sydney. That was 1986. I went to school here in Lismore and when I was 16 we moved to Tasmania where we stayed for 17 months. We came back for a short time then moved to Sydney because Mum had met my Stepfather.
In 1998 we returned to Lismore and I’ve been here ever since. I moved out of home and was living independently in a unit for a few years. I met my husband. We were together for a while and separated without contact for 12 years. We bumped into each other and got back together again. He is a hearing man.
We moved into a unit, got engaged and we now have 2 boys under 7. They are both hearing.
I’m organising a far North Coast deaf family BBQ day. There was a group called Parents of Deaf Children which was established in this area but unfortunately it disbanded. A couple more groups started up and also disbanded after a while. Recently I took it over as I have more free time. I want to get it up and running and keep it going.
There will be 4 events a year, the second Sunday, every 3 months. I’ve organised interpreters for those events as well. The Deaf Society of NSW are providing support as well. They will provide BBQ equipment and activities.
We will pick different picnic areas e.g. Lismore, Ballina, Casino, Tweed Heads and we try to move it around. Tweed Heads has a large deaf community and in the past they came down here so to be fair we will move it around. We have one on the 8th December at Tweed this year. The first one is on the 10th March 2019 at Meldrum Park in Ballina. The second one is in June in Wade Park Lismore. September 8th will be in Evans Head.
It’s a great way to meet new people and catch up with old friends. Everyone’s welcome, parents of deaf and hearing kids, children with disabilities, love to see the indigenous community. It’s also a great opportunity for Auslan students who are studying at Tafe to get more experience and to meet more people in the deaf community.”
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