Company Philosophy

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Dear Friends, Thank you for visiting us today.
Look around our site. Talk to our people. See
why Alabamas Office of Deaf Services is one of
the most exciting programs in the country. We
are committed to developing services for people
who are
deaf or hard of hearing that are culturally and
linguistically affirmative. We want all
Alabamians with hearing loss to have access to
mental health services that meets their
needs. Whether you need help or are looking for a
career, we can help.
Director,Office of Deaf Services
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Among the one in 5 Alabamians who will need
mental health services in their lifetimes are
more than 39,000 people who are deaf or hard of
hearing. People who are deaf or hard of hearing
have difficulty finding services that are
linguistically accessible to them. When they do
find services where someone signs, often those
services do not take into account the special
cultural considerations that often make the
difference between successful treatment and
relapse and recidivism. Our programs will be
designed by people who are deaf to not only be
linguistically accessible but also culturally
affirmative, giving the consumer every
opportunity to make progress to recovery.
All Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Alabamians With
Mental Illness Will Have Culturally And
Linguistically Appropriate Services
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The mission of the Office of Deaf Services of the
Alabama Department of Mental Health/Mental
Retardation is to advocate for and provide
culturally and linguistically appropriate mental
health services for deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of
hearing individuals. Our goal is to provide
recovery-based services that support consumers in
their efforts to live independently, while
respecting their individual choices.

• Values
• consumer focused
• culturally affirmative
• statewide access
• development of people
• quality services
• teamwork

Mission
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• bailey acute deaf in-patient unit
• regional offices
• group homes
• mental health interpreter training
• standards and program development
• visual-gestural communications

programs
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• acute psychiatric care
• supported living
• out-patient services
• videoconferencing
• training for clinicians
• technical assistance and consultation
• community education

services
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Region I

• Office of Deaf Service, Central Office
• Steve Hamerdinger, ODS Director
• Charlene Crump, MHI Coordinator
• Bailey Deaf In-Patient Unit _at_ Greil
• Dr. Frances Ralston, Unit DirectorBrian McKenny,
  Interpreter, Bailey Unit
• Region I, Northern Alabama
• Scott Staubach, Regional Coordinator
• Dawn Marren, Region I Interpreter
• Region II, Central Alabama
• Shannon Reese, Region II Coordinator
• Region II Interpreter (TBA)
• Region III, Southeast Alabama
• Liz Hill, Region III Coordinator, Region III
  Interpreter (TBA)
• Region IV, Southwest Alabama
• Ben Hollingsworth Region IV Coordinator
• Region IV Interpreter (TBA

Region II
people
Region III
Region IV
ODS Regions
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Regional Offices
Region I
The Office of Deaf Services has four regional
offices to better serve people with mental
illness and hearing loss. This system allows our
staff to be closer to our consumers and to be
more involved in the local communities. Click
on the regions for more information.
Region II
Region III
Region IV
ODS Regions
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For more information contact Steve Hamerdinger,
Director Office of Deaf ServicesAlabama
Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation 100 North Union Street Montgomery, AL
36130 [phone] (voice) [phone]
(tty) steve.hamerdinger_at_mh.alabama.gov
contact
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Office of Deaf ServicesCentral Office
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• The Office of Deaf Services is a unit of the
  Division of Mental Illness and is housed in the
  Central Offices of the Department of Mental
  Health and Mental Retardation in Montgomery.
  This office oversees the delivery of culturally
  and linguistically affirmative services to deaf
  and hard of hearing Alabamians who have mental
  illness.

Charlene Crump is the Mental Health Interpreter
Coordinator and is responsible for ensuring
quality interpretive services.
Steve Hamerdinger is the Director of Deaf
Services, and has overall responsibility for
ensuring that deaf and hard of hearing people
Have appropriate mental health services.
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Region I, Northern AlabamaMental Health Center
of Madison County

• Serving Calhoun, Cherokee, Calhoun, Cleburne,
  Colbert, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson,
  Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison,
  Marshall, and Morgan counties.
• Contact 4040 South Memorial PkwyHuntsville, AL
  35802(256) 533-1970(voice)[phone]
  (tty)scott.staubach_at_mhcmc.org

Scott Staubach, MA, LPCRegional Coordinator
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Region I, Northern AlabamaMental Health Center
of Madison County

• Serving Calhoun, Cherokee, Calhoun, Cleburne,
  Colbert, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson,
  Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison,
  Marshall, and Morgan counties.
• Contact 4040 South Memorial PkwyHuntsville, AL
  35802(256) 533-1970(voice)[phone]
  (tty)scott.staubach_at_mhcmc.org

Scott Staubach, MA, LPCRegional Coordinator
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Region II, Central AlabamaJ-B-S Mental Health
Authority

• Serving Blount, Chilton, Choctaw, Cullman,
  Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Marengo,
  Marion, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Walker, and
  Winston counties.
• Contact 956 Montclair Road Suite 108Birmingham
  AL, 35213(205) 591-2212 (Voice)[phone]
  (TTY) sreese_at_jbsmha.com

Shannon Reese, MA, NCCRegional Coordinator
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Region II, Central AlabamaJ-B-S Mental Health
Authority

• Serving Blount, Chilton, Choctaw, Cullman,
  Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Marengo,
  Marion, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Walker, and
  Winston counties.
• Contact 956 Montclair Road Suite 108Birmingham
  AL, 35213(205) 591-2212 (Voice)[phone]
  (TTY) sreese_at_jbsmha.com

Shannon Reese, MA, NCCRegional Coordinator
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Region III, Southeast RegionMontgomery Area
Mental Health Authority

• Serving Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock,
  Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Dale, Dallas, Elmore,
  Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon,
  Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph,
  Russell, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and
  Wilcox counties.
• Contact 101 Coliseum BoulevardMontgomery, AL
  36109(334) 279-7830 (voice)

Liz Hill, MARegional Coordinator
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Region III, Southeast RegionMontgomery Area
Mental Health Authority

• Serving Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock,
  Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Dale, Dallas, Elmore,
  Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon,
  Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph,
  Russell, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and
  Wilcox counties.
• Contact 101 Coliseum BoulevardMontgomery, AL
  36109(334) 279-7830 (voice)

Liz Hill, MARegional Coordinator
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Region IV, Southwest RegionMobile Mental Health
Center

• Serving Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh,
  Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe,
  and Washington counties.
• Contact Mobile Mental Health5750-A Southland
  DriveMobile, AL 36693(251) 450-5901 (voice)

Ben Hollingsworth, MS, CRCRegional Coordinator
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Region IV, Southwest RegionMobile Mental Health
Center

• Serving Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh,
  Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe,
  and Washington counties.
• Contact Mobile Mental Health5750-A Southland
  DriveMobile, AL 36693(251) 450-5901 (voice)

Ben Hollingsworth, MS, CRCRegional Coordinator
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Bailey Deaf In-Patient UnitGreil Memorial
Psychiatric Hospital, Montgomery

• The Bailey Unit will be opening in the Winter of
  2005 and there are numerous career opportunities.
  These include
• Social Worker
• Nurses
• Psychological Assistant
• Communication Specialist
• Mental Health Technicians
• Recreational Specialist
• Contact Personnel Greil Memorial Psychiatric
  Hospital2140 Upper Wetumpka RdMontgomery, Al
  36107(334) 262-0363 ext 232 or 231(voice)

Frances Ralston, Ph.DUnit Director
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Bailey Deaf In-Patient UnitGreil Memorial
Psychiatric Hospital, Montgomery
The Bailey Deaf Unit, located in Montgomery, will
be a culturally affirmative treatment option for
people with mental illness and or chemical
dependency. Opening in early 2005, this unit
will provide caring sensitive treatment for deaf
or hard of hearing individuals in need of acute
psychiatric services. It will have 10 beds, with
two beds designated as statewide crisis beds. It
will be designed to be a culturally affirmative
Deaf Program unit with signing staff who are
trained to work with people who are mentally ill
and deaf. This program will be a leader in
providing culturally affirmative services.
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Acute Psychiatric Care
The heart of Alabamas acute psychiatric care for
people who are deaf will be the Bailey Deaf
In-Patient Unit in Montgomery. People in crisis
and in need of short term help can come find it
here. Additionally, our network of
video-conference locations means that a signing
therapist is just minutes away
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Outpatient Services
The Regional Centers of the Office of Deaf
Services provides community based programming for
people with hearing loss who also have mental
illness. Each center has a coordinator and at
least one signing therapist. The Regional
approach makes sure that services are
appropriate for people in that area.
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Supported Living
Modern treatment approaches and improved
medication make it possible for most people with
mental illness to live in the community. Many
people who are deaf, however, have missed out on
services that teach independent living. For
these consumer, the Office of Deaf Services has a
network of supported living options, allowing
each person to live with the degree of
independence he or she wants.
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Training for Clinicians

• A vital part of the work of the Office of Deaf
  Services is providing training for hearing
  clinicians who may encounter deaf or hard of
  hearing consumers. These clinicians are
  sometimes the first point of contact and are an
  important part of the overall service delivery
  system. Training includes
• Deafness and Deaf Culture
• Program standards and best practices
• Effective therapeutic approaches
• Screening for hearing loss
• Working with interpreters
• And many other topics.

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Technical Assistance and Consultation
Because of their expertise, staff members of the
Office of Deaf Services are often asked to
provide technical assistance to other state
agencies in Alabama and around the country.
Deaf Services staff are in demand as workshop and
conference speakers.
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Community Education
The stigma of mental illness is just as pervasive
in the Deaf Community as in the general
population. To help people who are deaf or hard
of hearing understand mental illness better,
Community education is an important part of what
we do
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Mental Health Interpreter Training Interpreter
Standards

• Alabama has passed the nations first standards
  for mental health interpreting, defining skills
  and knowledge needed to be effective in this
  vital area. The Office of Deaf Services has
  established special training for interpreters to
  help them meet these standards. This training
  leads to a special certification as a mental
  health interpreter.
• To be a Qualified Mental Health Interpreter a
  person must take the course of training, do a
  supervised practicum and pass a comprehensive
  examination.

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Visual-Gestural Communication Deaf Relay
Interpreting

• Many deaf people with mental illness are
  dysfluent in any language. Growing up in a
  linguistically deprived environment, without the
  chance to develop either English or American Sign
  Language skills, they often learn to communicate
  with gestures and home-made signs. This
  presents a tremendous challenge for clinicians.
• Visual-Gestural Communication specialist are
  people who are deaf and have special ability to
  communicate with those with poor language skills.
  The Office of Deaf Services works closely with
  the Deaf Community to help train those with this
  valuable skill.

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Group Homes

• Specialized group homes for deaf people with
  mental illness provide an important step between
  in-patient care and independent living. In these
  homes, consumer can learn important coping skills
  and be in an environment where everyone can sign
  Its a vial part of the recovery process.
• Currently the Office of Deaf Services has 2 homes
  open with more coming soon.

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Statewide Services connecting through
videoconferencing

• Alabamas goal is to make culturally affirmative
  services available to every deaf or hard of
  hearing Alabamian with mental illness. To this
  in our heavily rural state requires innovative
  approaches. Thats why we are putting
  videoconference capability in each mental health
  center. Help is available anywhere, any time.

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Program Standards And Development

• To assure quality service the Office of Deaf
  Services has worked with Policy and Planning to
  develop program standards which address how
  mental health services to people who are deaf
  will be delivered. The Office also researches
  best practices and works on program design