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September 26, 2023The Community Outreach Program for the Deaf (COPD) celebrated its 50th anniversary and the 90th anniversary of Catholic Community Services (CCS) with an open house on September 21 in midtown Tucson. Program participants, family, friends, staff, and supporters came together to see renovations to the COPD campus and learn about recent program opportunities while sharing stories of the program’s impact in Tucson, across Arizona, and beyond.
CCS began in 1933, responding to calls for help in southern Arizona at the height of the Great Depression. “For 90 years we have been providing help, creating hope, and serving all,” said Elena Dwyre, CEO. “And today, CCS makes a difference in the lives of some 100,000 people with a wide range of services, ranging from programs for young people and their families, to aid for refugees and migrants, senior nutrition programs, a new Medical Respite Center, and services for the Deaf community like those here at our Community Outreach Program for the Deaf campus.”
“The Community Outreach Program for the Deaf has been an important part of CCS for decades,” said L’Don Sawyer, Executive Director of Deaf, Residential, and Social Services at CCS. “COPD was started in 1973, pulling together services that CCS had been providing to the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing with supporters from across the community for years, and giving them a home where Deaf culture thrived. Our early partners at the University of Arizona, and especially at the Arizona State School for The Deaf and The Blind, helped us grow into a model for Deaf services across the country.”
“COPD provides services throughout Arizona to persons with hearing loss, providing a ‘one-stop’ center with comprehensive services to meet all needs. Our staff members, most of whom are bilingual in English and American Sign Language (ASL), respond to the needs of our clients and are well informed about the assistance available within the community,” added Sawyer. “Our services are free to Deaf, De
af-Blind, and hard of hearing individuals.”
For those interested in sharing their stories and connections to the Community Outreach Program for the Deaf or offering their support, financial contributions can be made online at www.ccs-soaz.org/donate/form, or by contacting Joe Leisz, CCS Development Director at (520) 670-0809 or josephl@ccs-soaz.org.
About Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona (CCS)
Founded in 1933, CCS is dedicated to strengthening children, adults, families, and communities by providing help, creating hope, and serving all. The organization operates agencies and ministries that include Deaf, Residential & Social Services, the Pio Decimo Center, Casa Alitas, CCS Yuma, CCS Sierra Vista, the St. Maximilian Kolbe Prison Ministry, and St. Jeanne Jugan Ministry for Elders. CCS's vision is to build a compassionate and just community that upholds the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. For more information, please visit www.ccs-soaz.org.
