Time to Celebrate
VCDHH is 10 years old….or should we say young?? April 2008 marks the tenth year anniversary for the Vermont Center. There is discussion within the organization for a series of events to mark this milestone. Before we turn to that, a bit of history.
Very soon after his arrival to take the helm at Austine School, Pat Schrader began discussions with the Department of Education, service agencies working with individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing and Deaf community representatives. Those discussions resulted in the creation of a parent organization to meet and respond to changes in Federal and State Special Education regulations and social policy. The Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was established and incorporated in April of 1998 as a statewide agency for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their families as well as Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults. The main office was and continues to be on the Austine School campus in Brattleboro. There are additional offices in Williston, Berlin, Barre, Rutland and St. Albans.
When Ed Peltier came to the Vermont Center as its president in 2003 he quickly recognized the need to promote the center’s identity and mission. While VCDHH had been providing comprehensive, specialized services to individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Vermont Center name recognition was limited. People around the state; legislators, agency representatives, community members etc., recognized and knew of Austine School and its good work but the connections between the school, regional day programs, consultant services and the emerging list of community based services like ACCESS, DVAS, VIRS was minimal at best. Through Ed’s efforts there have been gains in organizational identity and cohesiveness. An example of this is our recognition at the statehouse during the Legislator breakfast that we host every year. We display a map that provides a visual representation of our programs, where they are located and the numbers of children and adults served statewide.
An in-house example of organizational identity is the bi-monthly Vermont Center Program directors meetings and the presentations that each director will give to the Executive Committee of the VCDHH Board this year.
As an organization, ten years is still quite young. The Vermont Center as an information, resource and service center for individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing is the realization of one of the goals of the 1995 ACTION Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education. And as such has gone on to successfully address all of the identified goals of that committee.
Now under new leadership from Bert Carter as we celebrate the achievements of the past ten years, we also look forward and prepare for the next ten.
Among the initiatives VCDHH envisions for the immediate future are solidifying and expanding services offered to adults through the Northern Vermont Resource Center. VCDHH has applied for special service agency status from VT Department of Aging & Independent Living. Once granted it will allow us to work directly with the state and eliminate the “middle man” i.e., community agency. Clients can come directly to VCDHH. This designation will have programmatic and fiscal benefits. VCDHH is also a key player in the planning process for the establishment of a group home for adults who are deaf and developmentally disabled. The projected opening for that home is 2010.
But for now, we expect to kick off our 10th year anniversary celebration during the April meeting of the VCDHH Board of Trustee which takes place at the Regional Day Program in Williston. We are hoping for some media coverage during this time which will serve to support our ongoing efforts of promoting our identity and mission. Our 9th annual June Golf Tournament will be another arena for marking this anniversary. Plans for a fall bowling tournament are also underway. We are also planning for a “all-staff” gathering/meeting during school orientation week in August. This is no small feat for an organization with 175 staff people scattered throughout the state. There will be other happenings as well. Our web page will be a source of information for upcoming events and reports.
