If you look on the news, you see headlines, “7,000 Hondurans Marching through Mexico”. “President says this is a ‘National Emergency.'” What is going on?
The people fleeing Honduras are trying to escape the awful things happening in their country. Honduras has the highest murder rate IN THE WORLD! The rate of rapes, assaults, murders in Honduras is worse than in Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan. Why? WHY? Because so many people in the UNITED STATES continue to use illegal drugs! Most of the illegal drugs come from Columbia and Bolivia in South America. However, these drugs pass through countries like Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala. The gangs in these countries control the flow of the drugs. So, in Honduras, the gangs are always fighting. They shoot people to make them afraid of the gangs and their power. The government and police departments there to nothing to protect families. Why? Because the gangs pay off the politicians and police. Ordinary, good people have NO protection. So, they want to go to a country which is safe,the United States.
The United States government says it wants to stop all these people coming here. If that is true, then stop people in the United States from using illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin. How? Get people who are addicted help they need. Many of these people want to stop, but there are not enough drug-treatment programs to help them. We pay all this money to build “a wall” to keep people out. These are innocent people from Honduras, victims of terror, rape, murder, and poverty. Get help for people who are buying these illegal drugs; stop the people making huge profits from selling drugs. Then, the horrible things happening in Honduras and Guatemala and Nicaragua and El Salvador will end.

In the United States, one in every six boys (hearing) and one in every three girls (hearing) suffers some form of sexual abuse by the time they are 16 years old. If you are deaf and/or disabled, that rate is DOUBLE the rate of hearing or non-disabled children and young people. Why? There are many reasons. People who commit sexual crimes (predators) are always looking for children who are easy targets. Many deaf children never receive good sex education about what is safe and not safe. Why? Because their hearing parents don’t sign or are embarrassed to use sexual signs. In addition, often deaf children are very isolated (91% grow up in hearing families). If they attend “main-streamed” schools, they may be the only deaf child in a class, in a school! So, the perpetrator notices those children who seem lonely, no friends. The perpetrator shows in interest in that child, tries to communicate, or gives ‘gifts”. The deaf child becomes a victim. Also, the perpetrator knows three things about deaf and/or disabled children:
1) The child victim may be afraid to “disappoint” the perpetrator, and lose that “friendship”. The perpetrator may even be skilled in sign-language.
2 Perpetrators know that the deaf child may have a hard time communicating what happened because so many hearing adults parents, police, hospital staff, social workers, counselors) don’t sign.
3) Many hearing adults (even parents) think that no one would have sex with a deaf or disabled child. WRONG! Perpetrators depend on that attitude. Perpetrators love to have sex with children and young people they know will NOT be able to communicate, and adults will not believe the child.
Perpetrators LIE. They say, “oh, this does not hurt the child. Oh, I love this child. The child dressed sexy and that is why I had sex. The child wanted to have sex with me.” NO!!! LIES!!!!!
Sexual abuse happens in many different situations in our community:
DEAF ADULTS may force sex on the hearing children of deaf parents. The deaf parents trust their deaf friends.
DEAF ADULTS may force sex on other deaf young people. They sign, “oh, this is part of growing up. It is okay because we are deaf.”
OLDER HEARING CHILDREN may force sex on their younger brothers/sisters, or step-brothers, step-sisters.
HEARING ADULTS, often family members, may force sex on deaf children. The hearing person knows that other hearing people will NOT believe the deaf or disabled child. What can we do?
1) If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, it is NOT your fault. If you still suffer because you were abused, even 10,20, 30 years ago, get help. Go to a counselor who can help you with you get rid of your suffering.
2) People who force children or young people to have sex commit a crime. The police should arrest them, and they should go to jail. Sexual abuse is also a terrible SIN. This hurts God’s children. God’s judgment will be hard on those who hurt children. God will punish sexual abusers.
PARENTS:
1) if your child tells you, voice or sign, that someone forced them to have sex or watch sexy videos or touched them in a sexual way, BELIEVE YOUR CHILD. Immediately call 9-1-1 to report this. If the child communicates that this happened in school, do NOT call the school. Call 9-1-1. If the child is deaf, tell the police they MUST bring a CERTIFIED INTERPRETER to do any interviews with the child. The parent or a hearing brother/sister should NOT act as the “interpreter”.
2) Hearing parents have to teach their children, hearing/deaf, about what is safe touching and not safe touching; what is healthy behavior and what is not healthy behavior. Parents MUST promise their children that the parents will ALWAYS believe the child if the child tells them what happened. Also, if another adult tells the child, “do NOT tell your parents what we did; this is OUR secret,”, the child MUST tell the parents.
3 If your child is in another home and someone shows the child pornography on a computer, a tv screen, the child must tell the parents. Then, call 9-1-1.

There is a very good resource for all parents: www.stopitnow.org. That site gives parents good information about sexual abuse. There is also a special set of pages for parents who have children who are deaf/disabled, have “special needs”.
Father Joseph Mulcrone

For many years, insurance companies took advantage of deaf people. Car insurance companies all charged deaf people MORE for car insurance. Why? Because the car insurance companies believed that deaf drivers were worse than hearing drivers. Proof? None, but it did not matter. Finally, about 35 years ago, a group of deaf people investigated the rates of accidents for deaf drivers and hearing drivers. What did they find out? Deaf drivers and hearing drivers have the SAME RATE of car accidents. Now , the law does NOT allow an automobile insurance company to charge deaf drivers more than hearing drivers for car insurance.
The same thing happened with health insurance. For many years, insurance companies refused to give health insurance to people who were deaf and/or disabled. Why? Because they had a “pre-existing” condition. Insurance companies believed that if you were deaf and/or disabled, you had a higher risk to become sick and end up in a hospital. Finally, President Obama signed into law the AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT (Obamacare). This law stopped insurance companies from refusing health care insurance to people who were deaf or charging deaf people more for health insurance JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE DEAF!
Now, some people in the U.S. Congress want to get rid of that protection for deaf and disabled persons. Many politicians who are REPUBLICAN want to get rid of the law. Many people who are DEMOCRATS want to keep the law. This November, there will be an election for ALL U.S. Representatives. Find out what the politicians running for CONGRESS in your district believe. Are they FOR keeping health care protections for people with “pre-existing” conditions (DEAF/ Disabled). Or, are they AGAINST keeping that protection.? ONLY VOTE for those people who want to keep OBAMACARE and the protection for people who are deaf and/or disabled.