An NSF grant awarded to RIT will be funding two 10-week summer internships to work at the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management (MCOEM). The NSF grant is a CIVIC grant titled: “Bridging the Gap between Essential Emergency Resources and Services and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in Monroe County NY: A Geospatial-Visual Approach” (Award #2322255 CIVIC-FA Tack B). The original proposal emphasized workforce development through training the next generation of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) students in Emergency Management practice. This initiative was piloted in the spring and summer of 2024, resulting in two successful internships with the MCOEM during the summer 2024. The intent of the internship program for summer 2025 is to follow up on the efforts from last summer as well as some new initiatives including the following:

1. Investigate and document awareness of Public Safety officials at local, county and state levels of issues related to DHH populations in emergency management practice.

2. Assist public safety officials in community outreach efforts to the local DHH community.

3. Engage in training activities for first responders by addressing the cultural and communication barriers DHH individuals face during emergencies.

4. Provide assistance to the Monroe County Department of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with improving the accessibility of emergency resources and services for the DHH community.