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. Want to work for DBSM? Click here for open positions!
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
Deafblind Club is a community event open to anyone experiencing combined vision loss and hearing loss! ASL/Interpreting students, volunteers and anyone interested in learning more about the Deafblind community are also welcome!
Multiple languages are represented including American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English. Protactile (PT) is also encouraged!
Join us for community updates, socializing and games! Pizza is available on site at Noon. Must bring $8.00 if you want to eat pizza. For potluck months, please bring a food item to share or $8.00. Potluck months will be announced ahead of time. You may bring your own lunch. Cans of soda pop and bottled water are available for $2 each.
When: Deafblind Club meets on the third Saturday of every month from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The event ends promptly at 2:00 pm and all rides including Metro Mobility should be scheduled for no later than 2:00 pm pick-up.
Where: St. Peder’s Church, 4600 E 42nd St, Minneapolis MN 55406. Metro Mobility and other ride services should use the side-door entrance on the east side of the building. The event is fully accessible to those using wheelchairs and has a wheelchair accessible restroom on site.
A limited number of Support Service Providers (SSP) and/or ASL Interpreters are available to assist with human guiding and communication as needed. Deafblind Club will not meet if there is forecast to be severe weather.
Deafblind Club is provided by the Minnesota Employment Center (MEC) Rise Inc. and is supported by DeafBlind Services Minnesota (DBSM). For more information or to volunteer, please contact Sammie Porter, Deafblind Community Specialist at porters@dbsm.org.
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.