Deaf and Hearing Impaired Services, Inc. Celebrates 20 Years of Service

Deaf & Hearing Impaired Services, Inc. (DHIS), a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency providing a continuum of services for deaf and hard of hearing older adults and their families in southeast Michigan, celebrates its 20th anniversary in business.

A grass roots and consumer driven organization, DHIS was established by Linda Booth from a need for deaf and hard of hearing older adults to access services otherwise made impossible or difficult due to the communication barrier.  Booth is a third generation of a family dealing with deafness, and she has been a pioneer, alongside her mother, in organizing services to deaf seniors, as well as providing state and nationally certified interpreters in American Sign Language, a growing area of need.

According to the State, approximately 1.4 million of Michigan citizens are deaf or hard of hearing, placing eighth in ranking among states for deaf population.  However, with about 500 interpreters in the state, Michigan ranks forty-seventh in number of interpreters.

DHIS has several satellite sites, including one in Brighton. The Brighton Senior Center, located at 850 Spencer Road serves as a community gathering place for deaf and hearing impaired individuals.

“Over the past two decades years, we have worked tirelessly to continually strengthen our programs and services, expand our reach in the deaf and hard of hearing community and carry on my mother’s legacy,” said Booth.  “Our commitment has and will always be to meet the needs of our audience and advocate on their behalf.  It’s all about access to communication so they can lead a more successful and fulfilling life.  It’s been a rewarding and humbling journey.” 

Booth’s grandparents were both deaf, and her mother, May Booth, became an expert in American Sign Language – the language of her parents – actually learning to sign before she could speak. In 1969, May Booth was approached by the Tri County Deaf Senior Citizens organization and was asked to be its Director/Interpreter.  This affiliation and involvement led to her developing the Michigan Association for Elderly Deaf and Hearing Impaired (MAEDHI) in 1973.  

In 1993, several years after joining the MAEDHI Advisory Council and with support of southeast Michigan’s deaf community, Linda Booth formed DHIS.  Its staff includes some of Booth’s children (fourth-generation), and contracts with about 65 state and nationally certified ASL interpreters and a network of more than 30 volunteers.  In recognition of her mother’s many accomplishments, as well as love and passion for the deaf community and the interpreters, DHIS established the May Booth Scholarship Fund to assist and encourage students studying in the field of Sign Language Studies/Interpreter Training Programs.

“The ACCESS (Accessibility Compliance Center & Education Support Services) coordinators congratulate Deaf & Hearing Impaired Services on its 20th anniversary and thank them for the outstanding interpreting services they have been providing Oakland Community College for many years,” said Marcia Kosovec, Oakland Community College-Royal Oak Campus, ACCESS coordinator.  “Thank you to Linda Booth and all of the excellent interpreters who work for DHIS.”

Today, DHIS is part of a coalition that seeks to establish for seniors the first deaf housing community in Michigan.  To serve the needs of deaf and hard of hearing older adults, it would offer specialized support services and level of care, as well as advanced technology to permit aging in a environment designed to provide full access within a senior living community.  A property has already been identified in Wixom.

“This community can be a model for care for the deaf as they age,” Booth says.  “We hope to secure approval to move forward this important and necessary project.  I think my mother and her parents would be proud.”