Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team AA Service Committee

Who we are

The Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team is a stand-alone (autonomous) service committee within Alcoholics Anonymous. All six of our members have long-term sobriety and serve as trusted servants, committed to carrying the message in ASL to Deaf alcoholics.

Who do we serve

We serve Alcoholics Anonymous Access Committees and Deaf alcoholics throughout the United States and Canada. Our team collaborates with Access Committees and Deaf alcoholics to produce ASL vodcasts and submit them to AA Grapevine and La Viña YouTube channels.

What’s different about us? By Deaf alcoholics for Deaf alcoholics. 

Historically, Access Committees have hired interpreters to translate a Deaf person’s story from ASL into spoken English (audio recordings) or written English for submission to Grapevine magazine or the Box 459 newsletter. While this method made Deaf alcoholics’ stories accessible to hearing members, it did not make them accessible to other Deaf alcoholics.

Our Approach

The Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team independently produces these videos and provides them to AA Grapevine for publication.

Our work is Deaf-centered. We engage a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) or Deaf Interpreter to provide audience interpretation of the story in American Sign Language (ASL), preserving the integrity of the original language while honoring its cultural context.

In addition, we provide a DeafBlind-accessible plain English visual descriptive transcript whenever we can afford to have one prepared. This ensures the content is accessible to a broader audience, including DeafBlind individuals and those who benefit from clear, descriptive language.

Our team has chosen to provide English transcripts whenever we can afford to have them prepared because we believe transcripts are an important accessibility option for our Deaf recovery shares. They provide access for DeafBlind and blind individuals who use assistive technology, including software that allows them to enlarge text or access written material through Braille equipment.

English transcripts also provide access to people whose first language is English. In addition, transcripts can be easily copied into translation applications, making the content more accessible to people who use other written languages.

We believe that providing a DeafBlind-accessible plain English visual descriptive transcript is currently the best accessibility option we can reasonably offer for our ASL videos. At this time, we do not have the financial resources to cover the additional costs associated with professional audio description, captioning, or other accessibility services.

Our goal is not just access—but meaningful, culturally responsive access.

With guidance from AA Grapevine, we have developed written guidelines to help Alcoholics Anonymous Access Committees collaborate effectively with Deaf alcoholics and the Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team to produce ASL video submissions for Grapevine.

Our goal is to make recovery stories accessible while respecting Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and the lived experiences of Deaf alcoholics.

How Do We Pay the Cost to Produce the Vodcast?

Funding for the Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast is the responsibility of the Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team AA Service Committee. We produce the videos independently and provide them to AA Grapevine for publication.

Maintaining financial independence from AA Grapevine ensures that the production process—specifically, the hiring of Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDIs) or Deaf Interpreters to provide audience interpretation of members’ stories—is directed and managed by the Deaf AA community, for the Deaf AA community.

We also hire Deaf professionals to prepare our English transcripts whenever funding is available. This supports our commitment to providing accessible materials while ensuring that the language and cultural context of the original ASL content are respected.

We request voluntary contributions from the AA fellowship in accordance with the spirit of the Seventh Tradition to help cover the costs of producing the ASL Vodcast and its accessible transcripts.

We do no accept funding from non-AA sources. This helps us maintain our independence and ensures that the work remains focused on carrying the AA message to Deaf alcoholics.

AA Access Committees, Districts, and AA groups may provide Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast scholarships through voluntary AA contributions. These scholarships can help cover the costs associated with producing a vodcast, including CDI or Deaf Interpreter services and the preparation of accessible English transcripts.

Our funding approach allows the Deaf AA community to determine how these services are provided, while keeping the focus on accessibility, cultural responsiveness, and carrying the AA message.

Grapevine collects short ASL Deaf stories (10 minutes) by AA members and publishes them on the ASL Vodcast playlist on Grapevine YouTube. 

• Vodcast Instructions for Deaf AA member 

  • Please contact us if you need help. Contact us A team member can meet with you and explain how to make a vodcast/vlog. 

• Grapevine American Sign Language Playlist  Grapevine & La Viña YouTube Channel 

• American Sign Language Videos for Deaf Alcoholics are Now Available on the Grapevine & La Viña YouTube Channel!

• Grapevine News August 2024 Announcing the ASL vodcast playlist

• July 1, 2024 Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast ANNOUNCEMENT