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Members of the Service Providers Coalition |
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 Abused
Deaf Women's Advocacy Services (ADWAS) |
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American
Sign Language Interpreter Network |
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Seattle Children's (formerly Children's Hospital) |
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Deaf-Blind
Service Center (DBSC) |
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Division
of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) |
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Hearing
Loss Association of Washington (HLA-WA) |
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Hearing,
Speech & Deafness Center (HSDC) |
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Helen
Keller Northwest (HKNW) |
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Lighthouse
for the Blind |
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Mildred
M. Johnson Memorial Library |
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Northwest
Asian Deaf Organization (NWADO) |
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Northwest
Deaf Addiction Center (NWDAC) |
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Northwest
Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf (NWRAD) |
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Office
of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) |
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Seattle
Central Community College |
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Sound
Mental Health (SMH) Formerly Seattle Mental Health |
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Shared
Reading Video Outreach Program (SRVOP) |
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SignOn |
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Southeast
Washington Service Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SEWSCDHH) |
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Washington
Assistive Technology Foundation (WATF) |
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Washington
School for the Deaf (WSD) |
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Washington
Sensory Disabilities Services (WSDS) |
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Washington
State Association of the Deaf (WSAD) |
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Washington
State Deaf-Blind Citizens (WSDBC) |
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Washington
State Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (WSRID) |
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Forming the Service Providers Coalition |
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In 2002, HSDC formed a focus group of regional nonprofit agencies
serving similar populations: individuals who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind,
hard of hearing, or facing speech challenges. At that time, there
was no cohesion between agencies, there was consistent competition
for funding for duplicate services, and there was no vehicle for
sharing the best practices and information. |
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Convening this group fit HSDC's mission, which includes a focus
on impacting systemic change and building capacity in the community.
With a new facility and a strong infrastructure and management,
HSDC was in a unique position to organize what came to be called
the Service Providers Coalition. The belief was that we could strengthen
the individual agencies through collaboration and increase the
quality and coverage of services, and it was clear that the community
was looking to HSDC to provide leadership in bringing these agencies
together. HSDC stepped up to the plate and hosted the first focus
group meeting with thirty-five participants in December 2002. |
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| The goals of the focus group were: |
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understand the mission and programs of each agency to avoid
duplication of services. |
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identify what the gaps in services were. |
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look at which agency or agencies would be most appropriate
to address those gaps. |
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find ways to support each other more in our efforts. |
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share best practices in business operation. |
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develop a strong "voice" to communicate the needs
of these communities. |
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| It was clear from the first meeting that this coalition was
needed. There was neither a clear understanding of services
provided by the various agencies nor any documentation of the
needs of the communities. A matrix of services and gaps was
developed to quantify the information and serve as a tool in
the agencies' long-range planning. |
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| The group - now called the Service Providers Coalition, and
maintained in partnership with the Washington State Office
of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) - has been meeting quarterly
ever since, and has had exciting results: coalitions and partnerships
between agencies, training and mentoring, identifying trends
and needs in the community, agencies exploring the possibility
of merging where appropriate and increased visibility for a
number of individual providers. |
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