Sheryl Emery with the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DODHH) in Lansing will be in Grand Rapids for a public community forum at Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services. It is on February 9 from 3-5 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Here’s the flyer: DODHHTownhallMeetingGR
Contact Scot A. Pott if you have any questions at spott@deafhhs.org or (616) 828-0146. See you there!
James Ypma, MPA, from network 180 will give a workshop at DHHS from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on mental health terminologies, diagnoses, criteria, and more for interpreters who are familiar or want to be familiar with mental health interpreting. 0.4 CEUs and 4.0 BEI/QA/EIPA hours are provided. Cost is $35.
Crom Saunders is giving an interpreting workshop at DHHS called “But I Don’t Even Know it in English!” on Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 0.4 CEUs and 4.0 BEI/QA/EIPA hours are provided. Cost is $65 for the workshop.
Later that evening, Crom will give a performance for the general public at Aquinas College! Bring your family, friends and other students and enjoy the performance. A flyer will be available soon with more information.
DHHS’ 2nd annual Silent Weekend is from February 24-26 at Camp Manitou-Lin in Middleville, MI, about 30 miles south of Grand Rapids. It is for ITP, advanced ASL students, BEI/QA/EIPA and NIC interpreters. All workshop presenters have formats designed for each level so everyone has an opportunity to benefit from Silent Weekend. There will be no voicing at all during the weekend, only using sign language and receptive skills.
Workshops include MLS interpreting, mental health situations, classifiers, vocabulary development, ethical decision making and more!
Silent Weekend offers 8.5 BEI/QA/EIPA hours and 0.85 RID CEUs.
Cost: $120 for ITP/ASL students and $145 for certified interpreters. Cost includes camp lodging, meals, and CEUs & hours. See the flyer and registration form for more details.
Contact Scot Pott at spott@deafhhs.org or (616) 828-0146 for questions about Silent Weekend. Contact Bethany Perry at bperry@deafhhs.org or (616) 732-7358 for registration and payment. We will sell Silent Weekend sweatshirts at an additional cost.
We have finalized presenters, workshops, and the agenda. More information will be forthcoming.
DHHS is offering 12-week American Sign Language classes in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, starting in February of 2012. Call us at (616) 732-7358 to register. For more questions about the classes, contact Scot A Pott, DHHS Community Relations Coordinator, at spott@deafhhs.org or (616) 828-0146.
Howard City and Holland-area ASL classes will be offered in the spring. Call us if you want more information or to put your name on the list.
ASL Registration – spring 2012
Mail, fax, or drop off your registration form on or prior to the first night of class with payment.
DHHS’ fall 2011 newsletter, “The Communicator,” is available for your reading pleasure.
Contents include: annual gala pictures, goals for 2012, interpreter workshops, and our new ADAPT program!
American Sign Language levels I – IV are offered at DHHS – Grand Rapids and DHHS – Muskegon, starting Monday, September 12, 2011. Download the registration form and mail it in or call our office at 616-732-7358. Our enrollment is open now. Payments can be made the first night of class.
Update as of Monday, September 12: ASL 1 and ASL 2 on Mondays are full. There’s still seats left for Thursday’s ASL 1 and ASL 2 class at DHHS-Grand Rapids. Thank you for registering! 
Please donate to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services through FirstGiving! DHHS does not receive state or federal funding for our programs. We keep our agency open through fee for services and donations. We always welcome donations for our general fund, programs, and capital campaign.
We are the only agency between Chicago and Detroit. If you would like us to continue staying strong with our programs which serves any persons with deafness or hearing loss, please donate. We appreciate your support!
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/deaf-inc/deaf-inc?fge=ask
The year 2010 went by fast for DHHS! No matter what, each year ends with the same thing – the deaf and hard of hearing community still needs empowerment and services. So I’ll start this post with our usual goals and brand-new ones.
Our usual goals include growing our existing programs – behavioral & mental health supports coordination, job placement, advocacy, interpreter referral, hearing assistance outreach and ASL classes.
Our usual events include Silent Celebration on June 18, annual gala in September, Kids Kamp in July, Euchre Tournament in March and October, and the monthly Interpreter Series Workshops.
(For the fall gala, we will be recognizing two things: our 3rd annual gala and 15 years of DHHS!! So this year will be a special one! Announcements will be forthcoming soon.)
Brand-new goals for 2011 include Parent & Toddler ASL classes, Silent Weekend for deaf mentors, ITPs, graduates, and certified interpreters, youth program, and our capital campaign goals.
More and more people are calling DHHS about interpreters, employment needs, equipments, and ASL classes, among other things. I have seen so many positive outcomes and feedback from people we assisted through this agency.
Among the highlights:
“I want to thank everyone who helped me get my hearing aids. I am so pleased with what I can hear: crickets, birds, TV, and most of all my family and friends. You willnever know how much I appreciate what you have done for me.” - woman we assisted through hearing assistance outreach program
“Kids Kamp helped teach more sign language to my hearing son and gave my deaf son a chance to be around people like him.” - Jessica Miller
“With our assistance, most of our customers improved their job-hunting skills and got jobs.” - Scot Pott, Job Placement Specialist. Since we started the job placement program in 2007, we have seen a 48% success rate, the most being in 2010.
“I have been extremely happy with the process for getting an interpreter. My old methods took way too much time to coordinate everything and Nan Soper has been an absolute joy to work with. I’m really happy you came in to talk to us about your services and feel confident that if there are problems you have the capability of helping figure out where we are and what we need to do next. I also have no reservations about referring your agency as a positive experience to others that either are part of our agency or those I meet in the community with similar characteristics.” - Joshua Pipe, Holland MRS counselor
In closing, we keep our doors open 8 hours a day in Grand Rapids and Muskegon but our hearts and hands are open 24/7. Keep visting our web site for events, news and assistance!
Katie Prins, Executive Director
