The Office of Deaf Services believes that it is important to be very involved in the local community. We proudly sponsor and promote several activities that help draw people together. This serves several purposes.
First, it help reduce the stigma of mental illness. As people are exposed to other people with mental illness and with the staff who work with them, misconceptions begin to fall away and people with mental illness are seen as just people.
For people who want to improve their American Sign Language skills, these activities are a place to meet deaf people from all walks of life. They are places where people who are exploring the idea of becoming interpreters can learn about real deaf people in a natural setting.
And finally, these events allow deaf people who work in mental health to come together after hours socialize.
A article about Deaf Coffee Nights appeared in the Winter 2009 edition of Signs of Mental Health. Click on the image to read it.
ASL Coffee Night
Charlene Crump and former ODS staffer Liz Hill felt that the community lacked activities that would help draw deaf people together. Also, there were few, if any, activities that would provide a safe environment for new signers to mingle with and use American Sign Language. The first “Deaf Coffee Night” grew from those discussions.
Meeting at a Starbucks (where else?) a dozen sign language students and a handful of deaf people got a chance to mingle. Most of the deaf people participating were employed by DMH, either in community services or at the Bailey Deaf Unit. With only a few exceptions, Deaf Coffee night has met every first Friday since then, and has grown from a handful of people to routinely have 50 or more present.
ASL Dinners
ASL Dinners are held roughly every three months. The event moves around to different restaurants in the Montgomery, AL area.This popular and well attended event serves many of the same functions as the Deaf Coffee Nights. It also functions as a good place to recruit potential staff as it frequently pulls participants from a wider geographical area. Both Deaf Coffee Night and ASL Dinners are highly encouraged activities for American Sign Language students at Troy University, where Alabama’s Interpreter Training Program is located, and Auburn University at Montgomery’s ASL classes.
ASL Dinners are popular events drawing people from all over central and south central alabama.
For More Information About These Activities, Contact Us
