Knoxville Center of the Deaf (KCD)

3731 Martin Mill Pike, Knoxville, TN 37920

865-579-0832 voice; 865-299-6451 VP

Monica Shimmin-Orr, DeafBlind coordinator

mshimmin@kcdtn.org

Chrissy Davis, Executive Director

cdavis@kcdtn.org

www.kcdtn.org

Service Area: Knoxville, Tennessee and 19 surrounding counties

Program Established: March 2006

Funding Sources: The KCD Annual Golf Tournament provides the funding and ongoing financial support for the SSP program.  SSPs are paid an hourly rate to provide services to DeafBlind individuals. 

Eligibility: there are no formal eligibility guidelines; consumers are self-identified

Number of Individuals Served: 13 individuals

Preferred Terminology:  SSP

Types of Service Requests:  SSPs are contracted to provide services for shopping, and deaf senior citizen social group activities; assistance getting to/from doctor appointments where an interpreter is used for the actual appointment, but an SSP helps with transportation, guiding to and within the building, and provides environmental information while waiting for the appointment

Training Requirements: training is provided to interested SSPs and interpreters; emphasis on self-advocacy by DeafBlind persons

Program Coordination: part-time paid coordination

Transportation:  Transportation can be provided to individuals by SSPs. 

Other: DeafBlind consumers identified the need for the service and designed the program; almost all of the consumers use ASL as their primary language; all of the SSPs are Deaf.