A deaf charity that has operated for 150 years has announced that it will close over the next few months, despite fundraising efforts by a service user to keep it open.
Northamptonshire-based Deafconnect has provided support, education, and advocacy for local people who are deaf and hard of hearing since 1874.
However, trustee Mark Symmonds told the BBC last week that Deafconnect was no longer viable due to a lack of funds and that the charity’s decision to close had been taken “with a very heavy heart”.
He said that support services and group sessions would continue until 13 March; interpreting booking services will continue until 14 July, and hire bookings of the Spencer Dallington Community Centre in Northampton, which is run by the charity, will continue until 31 July.
‘Difficult financial situation’
The charity first announced its formal closure in January in a post on Facebook.
Its board of trustees cited “a difficult financial situation” for the closure.
According to DeafConnect’s most recently filed accounts, it reported a total annual income of £353,000 for the financial year ending 31 March 2025 versus a total annual expenditure of £406,000.
The charity employed an average number of 13 employees in 2024-25, the same figure as the year before.
In its social media post, the charity said it was “seeking to explore all options for the future delivery of deaf community services”.
“This includes discussion about whether the services might be delivered, in the future, by a new organisation, subject to all appropriate agreements and approvals,” it added.
Online petition
In response to this announcement, an online petition on GoFundMe was subsequently set up by service user Jake Holland to try and save the charity.
The petition, which had an initial target of £9,000, raised around £2,000 prior to the closure announcement.
Holland told the BBC: “Knowing that there is no-one there to go to, as my family are all deaf, [means] Deafconnect is my lifeline really.
“Deafconnect helped us to be our own person and stand up for our own rights.”
Carers charity also announces closure
Separately, a charity that supports unpaid carers also recently announced that it would be closing on 31 March due to “significant funding challenges”.
Carer Support Wiltshire, which had operated for 15 years, said it was closing as the charity had no viable options left for it to operate in a sustainable way.
Nigel Sully, the charity’s chair, told the BBC: “This has been the hardest decision the board has ever had to make. We know how much these services have meant to unpaid carers.
“We are deeply saddened that, despite every effort, we can no longer continue this work.”
According to the charity’s most recently filed accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, its total income from government contracts dropped to £287,000 from £1.5m the year before.
Total income from government grants also decreased to £3,000 from over £96,000 in 2023-24.
The charity employed 18 full-time equivalent employees in 2024-25, down from 39 the year before.
