DeafBlind Services Minnesota
DeafBlind Services Minnesota advances the independence of children and adults with combined hearing and vision loss.
DeafBlind Services Minnesota (DBSM) brings one-to-one support to deafblind individuals of all ages, throughout Minnesota. Our trained support service providers (SSPs) work with adults, while our interveners teach communication skills to infants, children, youth and adults.
Call (612) 871-2222 or email info@dbsm.org to find support for yourself or a loved one.
Did you know that you might be eligible for equipment and training through iCanConnect? Click here to learn more.
DeafBlind Services Minnesota is a limited liability corporation (LLC) of Vision Loss Resources.
Adult Community Services
This program provides community support to self-determined deafblind adults age 22 and up (or age 18 and up if not on a school IEP), living throughout Minnesota. Support Services Providers (SSPs) assist deafblind adults with activities of daily living such as grocery shopping, banking, running errands, reading mail and filling out forms. SSPs also help with participating in community life and accessing information.
For more information about or to make a referral to Adult Community Services, please contact Matthew Priebe at (612) 843-3426 (voice), (612) 430-6008 (video phone), or priebem@dbsm.org. TTY users, please dial 711.
Children, Youth and Family Services
We provide support, information, referral, training and advocacy to deafblind children (ages 0-21 while in school on an IFSP/IEP) and their parents, family, educators and other service providers. Our interveners are trained staff who work with deafblind children so that they may learn about their environment and community, meet childhood developmental goals, and develop communication strategies. Interveners assist families with techniques for communicating with their child, developing appropriate expectations of and for their child, and collaborating with educators, schools, and service providers.
For more information or to make a referral, please contact Kim Johnson, Children, Youth and Family Services Manager, at (612) 843-3401 (voice) or kjohnson@dbsm.org.
Deafblind Club
Important updates about Deafblind Club! There will be no Deafblind Club in April. Then starting in May, Deafblind Club will meet on the third Saturday of each month from 11am to 1:30pm at its new location: St. Peder’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4600 E 42nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55406. Note that Deafblind Club will no longer meet at Bread of Life Deaf (BOLD) church, do not go to the BOLD location anymore for Deafblind Club because no one will be there! For more information please contact Sammie Porter at porters@dbsm.org.
Come join members of the Deafblind community for announcements, fun and games, lunch and socializing! Lunch is usually pizza, bring $5.00 if you plan to eat. On months where lunch is a potluck please bring a food item to share or $5.00. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch for yourself.
Deafblind Club is open to anyone experiencing combined vision loss and hearing loss as well as ASL/Interpreting students, volunteers and anyone interested in learning more about the Deafblind community! Support Service Providers (SSP) and ASL Interpreters are on hand to offer support and facilitate communication as needed.
Adjustment to Blindness/Deafblindness Training
We offer a variety of training activities and classes focused on the unique needs of deafblind people. This training is offered through the rehabilitation training center at Vision Loss Resources. For more information, visit our Adjustment to Blindness Training. Referrals are typically made by a consumer’s State Services for the Blind counselor. Private pay is also possible.