Breaking the Silence —
Building Accessible Pathways to Recovery
Recovery Advocates for Adult Deaf (RAAD) eliminates barriers to addiction recovery for Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults by building culturally competent, language-accessible treatment pathways.
The Access Gap in Addiction Recovery
Substance use disorder (SUD) affects millions of Americans. But for Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults, access to treatment is deeply limited.
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11 million Americans identify as deaf or having serious difficulty hearing.
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Fewer than 1% of addiction treatment programs are equipped to meet Deaf clients' communication needs.
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70% of Deaf adults seeking treatment report being turned away or misunderstood due to lack of ASL-fluent staff.
“Language access is not optional. It is foundational to care.”
What RAAD Is Building
The resources D/HH people need in recovery largely do not exist at scale. RAAD is building them.
ASL-Proficient Counselor Workforce
A pathway for addiction counselors to gain structured ASL training and certification.
Staff ASL Training
Practical ASL training tailored to treatment settings.
Recovery-Savvy Interpreter Network
A centralized database of interpreters familiar with addiction and recovery contexts.
D/HH Treatment Access Fund
Financial support to cover interpreting hours, travel, and technology barriers.
Recovery-to-Counselor Pathway
A D/HH Recovery Fellows model that supports Deaf adults in recovery to become certified counselors.
Who We Serve
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Adults
Direct communication. Dignity. Recovery access in ASL.
Treatment Providers
ASL training, workforce development, and partnership.
Funders & Community Partners
Infrastructure-building that creates long-term access.