About Us

The Deaf AIDS Project (DAP) was created nineteen years ago in response to a dire need for HIV/AIDS education in the deaf community. Since DAP’s inception in 1990 under former director Harry Woosley, Jr., the mission of the project has remained the same: to educate the Deaf and hard of hearing community about HIV, methods of transference and resources available to HIV-positive clients and their families. DAP is a government grant project under the non-profit organization Family Service Foundation, Inc. Although there have been amazing developments since 1990 concerning accessibility, facilitation and care available to both HIV positive and negative Deaf clients, there is a vital need for continued HIV education to community members and human service agencies who are ignorant to the distinct cultural and linguistic needs of the Deaf community.

Although DAP works tirelessly to educate and test community members, studies still show that there is a lack of understanding and comprehension about HIV in the Deaf community, leading to a higher prevalence of HIV among members of the community. Recent data shows that Deaf people are on average twice as likely to contract HIV as their hearing counterparts, which is why education about safer sex practices is a valuable tool for decreasing the spread of HIV within the community. There is a negative stigma surrounding HIV testing causing people to feel that being tested makes them automatically guilty of participating in risky behaviors. However, this is not true. The CDC recommends that all sexually active persons be tested every six months.

To our knowledge, Maryland is the only state in the country that asks about “hearing status” on the testing encounter forms. Recently, DAP successfully lobbied the AIDS Administration to delegate a code for “ASL” under the language section. The DAP is making significant progress, and encourages community members to become more involved. DAP services include HIV testing, as well as HIV test counseling in ASL, throughout the State of Maryland. We educate health care providers and interpreters about AIDS in the Deaf community and provide recommendations and support for addressing challenges. In addition, DAP educates members of the Deaf community about HIV and is working toward developing a culturally competent HIV prevention curriculum specifically for the Deaf community.

If you are interested in setting up a presentation, volunteering, testing, referrals, condom distribution, or more information please don’t hesitate to contact Sylvie Soulier at ssoulier@fsfinc.org.