Governors of Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Sign Proclamations Recognizing DeafBlind Awareness Week
Governors in four states have signed proclamations recognizing DeafBlind individuals and their contributions, with Kansas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania naming this year's theme directly - evidence that a national observance is taking root at the state level.
Each year, DeafBlind Awareness Week brings national attention to the estimated 2.4 million Americans who experience combined hearing and vision loss. The observance dates back to 1984, when President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5214, designating the last week of June as Helen Keller DeafBlind Awareness Week in honor of Helen Keller’s birthday on June 27.
This year’s theme, “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” centers touch as the foundation of connection for the DeafBlind community, from Protactile language, tactile sign language, and Haptics to braille, assistive technology, and everyday interaction. Through touch, DeafBlind individuals communicate, navigate, learn, work, and thrive as educators, advocates, professionals, artists, and leaders in their communities. The theme also calls on professionals, providers, and community members to build bridges of their own, through accessible communication and respectful interaction that breaks down barriers and opens doors to fuller participation.
That national observance is now also taking root at the state level. This spring, governors in Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania each issued proclamations recognizing DeafBlind individuals and their contributions, with Kansas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania specifically naming this year’s theme. Each proclamation builds on a template HKNC develops every year so advocates and organizations nationwide can request similar recognition from their own governors, mayors, and local officials, turning a national observance into local action.
Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly signed Kansas’ proclamation on May 29, 2026, designating June 25 through July 1, 2026, as DeafBlind Awareness Week in the state. The proclamation notes that approximately 23,238 Kansans live with DeafBlindness or combined hearing and vision loss, and it names this year’s theme directly, recognizing touch as the foundation of connection for the DeafBlind community.
The signing was coordinated by HKNC’s Great Plains Regional Representative Beth Jordan, joined by her Administrative Assistant Michele McClain, four DeafBlind Kansans and their family members, and Robert Cooper, Director of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Fittingly, the Governor signed the proclamation at a desk built decades ago by students at the Kansas School for the Deaf.
Image description: Four DeafBlind Kansans and their family members stand behind Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, who is seated at a large wooden desk holding the signed proclamation honoring DeafBlind Awareness Week. Also present are Robert Cooper, Director of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, CoNavigators, and HKNC staff members Michele McClain and Beth Jordan. Everyone is smiling. Three of the women are holding white canes, and one man is wearing a monocular device on his eyeglasses. An American flag and a Kansas flag are in the background.
North Carolina
Governor Josh Stein signed North Carolina’s proclamation on May 26, 2026, designating June 2026 as DeafBlind Awareness Month in the state. The proclamation notes that approximately 84,000 North Carolinians have combined hearing and vision loss, and it points to Helen Keller as an example of courage, hope, determination, and achievement among the DeafBlind population.
Read the full North Carolina proclamation
New Jersey
Governor Mikie Sherrill signed New Jersey’s proclamation designating June 25 through July 1, 2026, as Helen Keller DeafBlind Awareness Week in the state. The proclamation notes that approximately 83,000 New Jersey residents have combined vision and hearing loss, and it names this year’s theme directly. It also draws a unique historical connection: Helen Keller’s advocacy on behalf of New Jersey’s blind and DeafBlind residents directly influenced the creation of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired in 1910.
Read the full New Jersey proclamation
Pennsylvania
Governor Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania’s proclamation on June 11, 2026, designating June 25 through July 1, 2026, as DeafBlind Awareness Week in the Commonwealth. The proclamation notes that approximately 97,160 Pennsylvanians, or 0.75 percent of residents, live with DeafBlindness or combined hearing and vision loss, and it names this year’s theme directly, recognizing touch as the foundation of connection for the DeafBlind community.
More States to Come
Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are leading the way, and more states are expected to follow. If your state, city, or community has issued a proclamation of its own, share it with your HKNC regional representative, and we will add it to the growing list on this year’s landing page.
Still Ahead for DeafBlind Awareness Week
There’s more ahead this month. Two webinars explore this year’s theme in depth. Tactile Orientation & Mobility Strategies for DeafBlind Travelers, on June 30 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET, offers a research-informed look at touch-based strategies for DeafBlind orientation and mobility instruction, featuring Dr. Amy Parker of Portland State University and Dr. Tara Brown-Ogilvie of HKNC, alongside a panel of DeafBlind voices and an O&M specialist.
The second exciting free webinar is Protactile Philosophy, Culture, and Community, on July 1 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET. It features Protactile trainers Rhonda Voight-Campbell and Roberto Cabrera, co-presenting in Protactile language about the philosophy, culture, and impact of Protactile communication within the DeafBlind community.
HKNC is also offering four online courses free of charge throughout June, covering Haptics, etiologies and visual conditions associated with deafblindness, communication access, and working with sign language interpreters, all also available in Spanish. The landing page also features a growing list of community events happening across the country, along with downloadable resources and registration links for the webinars and free courses.
Visit helenkeller.org/dbaw2026 for the full schedule and more on this year’s “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges” campaign.
