Currently, the whole world is facing a serious shortage of essential medical supplies. The lack of masks has prompted people to simply make their own. However, college student Ashley Lawrence noticed that no one's making masks for the deaf and hard of hearing community. As the numbers of coronavirus cases are rising, it's important for people to have essential medical items, so Ashley decided to join the cause by making her own masks for those in need.
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After realizing there's a shortage of masks suitable for deaf and hard of hearing this woman starts making them herself
Image credits: Ashley Lawrence
Ashley, who is currently in self-isolation, studies deaf education at Eastern Kentucky University. The 21-year-old student got a new project idea after she realized that the supply of masks suitable for people who are deaf is very limited.
Image credits: Ashley Lawrence
Image credits: Ashley Lawrence
"I just saw that people were making masks on Facebook for everyone to have instead of the throwaway masks, and I was like, what about the deaf and hard of hearing population?" she told Lex 18.
Image credits: Ashley Lawrence
After asking her mom for help, they both started making masks that feature a plastic window right where the person's mouth is. Apparently, for those who use American sign language and lip-reading as a way of communication, being able to see a person's lips is crucial. "I don't know if you have seen Virginia Moore on Andy Beshear's things at five o'clock, but she's very emotive, and if half of that is gone because you're wearing a mask then half of what you're saying is being missed, so even if it's not physically talking and just using ASL, then you need to have that kind of access," she said.
Image credits: Ashley Lawrence
Ashley posted her creation on Facebook and soon it was proved how much of a demand these sorts of masks have. Her post gathered attention from the media and quite a few orders from people across the US. For now, the woman is making as many of them as she is capable and sending them out to people for free. However, as the demand rises, she is planning to give away free patterns and tutorials so people can make their own. To keep her cause going, she created a GoFundMe campaign so people can help her pay for the supplies.