Statements
Mission
Our mission is to build access, equity, and inclusion in partnership with the D/deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing communities through advocacy, education, empowerment, and effective communication
Background
For 95 years, Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has been providing programs and services to the Deaf and hard of hearing communities in Nashville and the surrounding area. As a result of the merger with the EAR Foundation in 2008, the League has changed its name to Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to better reflect our goal to serve the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities. BridgesTN is the area's only provider of comprehensive services to Deaf*('D' denotes the cultural and linguistic minority who use American Sign Language), hard of hearing, friends and families. The organization's staff and volunteers work to make sure communication barriers are overcome so children and adults in middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky who are struggling with any level of hearing loss have the same opportunities and experiences as their counterparts in the hearing world. The agency serves not only as a place for social gatherings, but also as a resource for those looking for information and support.Bridges has a long and rich history. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Lane Washington. Mrs. Washington was a local young mother with progressive hearing loss. Mrs. Washington took lessons herself, then taught Nashville's first "speechreading club" which was the early nucleus of the present-day agency. The first agency moved and changed, but presently resides on Edgehill and continues to serve Deaf and hard of hearing of all ages regardless of the degree of hearing loss. BridgesTN is a comprehensive community service center for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and their families. Programs and services include outreach and education (sign language classes, outreach efforts, Bridges's new fitness center, wellness programming), youth center (afterschool program, summer camps), interpreter and transcription services, case management, and information & referral services. In September 2008, the League merged with the Ear Foundation, a nationally recognized agency specializing in the unique needs of people with varying degrees of hearing loss. As previously indicated, in November 2009, the agency underwent a rebranding including the name change to Hearing Bridges, now simply known as BridgesTN - when referring to our Middle Tennessee based services, and BridgesDHH when referring to our services in Middle, West and Northeastern Tennessee.
Impact
2023 - 2024
Adult Education & Outreach
AEO delivered 130 outreach/educational presentations to businesses, universities, law enforcement, first responders, congregations, and agencies across all our offices. AEO delivered 169.25 hours of ASL I, II, and III in classes that were onsite, online, or community based across all our offices. AEO hosted over 30 workshops and presented a statewide Driver's Education class. AEO continued our statewide, virtual GED program. A group meets monthly with the Slovak Association of the Deaf in our cultural exchange partnership. AEO hosted our 5th, annual Trunk or Treat, Tax Days, Community Health & Vaccine Clinics, Thanksgiving, Game Days, and Signing Santa as well as special Deaf Nights Out in rural counties. With the Tennessee Organization for the Deaf-Blind, we hosted our first Deaf-Blind Game Day.
Advocacy
BridgesDHH trained all mental health facilities operated by the State of Tennessee. We renewed open caption movies for summer series hosted by Nashville, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, McMinnville, and Cookeville. We continued the Little Pantry in Nashville. We hosted Community Meetings at BridgesTN, BridgesEAST, and BridgesWEST to get the Community's lead on Interpreter Licensure. We worked with HCA Healthcare to increase training of staff and access for our Community. We trained all county law enforcement at their annual conference in Gatlinburg, TN. BridgesTN began a collaboration with the Nashville Soccer Club to provide interpreters at all home games.
Empowerment
Empowerment served 966 clients in all our offices during FY24. Our case management program served clients in areas such as jobs, housing, individual access, education, and assisting clients with written English. Other priorities were food security, training opportunities, educational advocacy, and advocacy for access to health care, mental health care, and other services. Empowerment made over 270 referrals to other agencies, including the Civil Rights Enforcement & Education Center, Disability Rights TN, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Financial Empowerment Center, attorneys, doctors, churches, and more. Empowerment collaborated with the Financial Empowerment Center to provide bi-weekly financial counseling, providing interpreters and a social worker to work with the counselor.
Interpreting Services
IS provided 46,502.25 hours of interpreting services across the state through a team of staff and freelance interpreters, including 197.5 hours by Deaf interpreters, 1,460.75 pro bono hours, and 82.5 hours of CART, 271 minutes of VRI, and 1,190 minutes of Access on Demand. Interpreting Services, in collaboration with Youth Education & Services, launched Camp Interpret, a camp for teens with ASL experience that introduces them to interpreting as a profession
Interpreting Services provided a robust program of virtual professional development, using qualified interpreters with specific areas of expertise to offer professional development on topics such as legal, medical, performance, mental health, and more.
EIDP
In May 2023, BridgesDHH was awarded a five-year grant to train 240 educational interpreters in Tennessee. We have fifty-six (56) active mentees in our first year. These mentees are matched with Interpreting Mentors and Deaf Mentors, participate in several workshops each month, and complete assignments using video software.
Youth Education & Services
Little ACEs welcomed new Deaf Mentors who meet with families with D/deaf and hard of hearing children ages 0 to 5 each week. Those families also have access to a free, weekly Parent ASL class offered virtually. We matched families in East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Enrollment in Little ACEs doubled in the last year. We delivered school-based mentoring, providing weekly Deaf Mentors for Eakin Elementary and West End Middle School. We hosted quarterly youth social events and opened online tutoring hours. We offered Camp Rise & Sign.
Needs
We have a beautiful and aggressive vision for the next three years. We are building a continuum of services and programs for birth through elder years, and we need your investment and support! 1. Investment: Financial gifts allow us to leverage our relationships to maximize them as we expand our resources and capacity to serve more people in increasingly efficient and effective ways. 2. Volunteers: We depend on volunteers for our front desk, office functions, youth programs, recycling, and grounds maintenance. We utilize volunteers for skill-specific projects such as graphic design, IT, and special events. 3. Mentors: We invite college students and adults to share their experiences in attending vocational schools or college and their careers and hobbies with our students.
CEO Statement
In our 97th year of service, BridgesDHH continued to grow, welcoming BridgesEAST to join BridgesTN, our original office, and BridgesWEST, opened in 2019. The partnership, leadership, and trust of the communities we serve is an extraordinary gift and the reason we continue to grow and thrive almost a century later.
In late May 2023, we began a journey to recruit and train 240 educational interpreters across the state. This five-year project will give our D/deaf and hard of hearing students the best possible language models and equal access in classrooms in all 95 counties, and in the 23-24 fiscal year, we brought on a tremendously-talented staff and recruited almost sixty mentees, several of whom have already tested and received their educational interpreting licenses in Tennessee. We expanded youth services across the state, established new partnerships for access, and increased rural outreach.
BridgesDHH is my happy place. Each and every day, we push ourselves to be more and to do more. You won't find a more strategically, efficiently, or effectively run business, and you won't find one run with more compassion, empathy, ethics, connection, and fun. Here, I have experienced the real power of a proud, welcoming, joyful, encouraging, resilient community.
We continue to define this civil rights work and to seek to engage and empower the community that leads us. From birth through elder years, we identify barriers and needs, removing the former and meeting the latter, and all of it is done on a foundation of excellence, innovation, and love. I am thankful for every minute and for all the extraordinary people who make this work possible. -- Nancy Denning-Martin, President & CEO
Board Chair Statement
As the mother of a child with hearing loss and the wife of a CODA, I can speak first hand to the important role BridgesDHH serves in our community. I have been involved with BridgesDHH for over ten years and have seen the tremendous impacts we have made in expanding access for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing through our programs and services. When I first joined the Board in 2012, I could not have envisioned the growth we have successfully undertaken. It's been inspiring to see the visions we outlined in the strategic plans become reality. That happens because we have a great leadership team, a supportive board, and an engaged community. With those strong foundations in place, our future plans continue to take shape. As we approach our centennial in just a few years, we have much to celebrate and look forward to! -- Lynn Winans, BOD Chair, 2024
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Deaf/Hearing Impaired Centers, Services |
| Secondary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Centers and Clubs (includes Boys/Girls Clubs)- Multipurpose |
| Tertiary Category: | Health Care - |
Areas Served
Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing serves counties in Middle Tennessee as well as some areas of southern Kentucky. BridgesWEST serves Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, Haywood, and Fayette counties. BridgesEAST serves northeastern Tennessee and parts of Virginia and North Carolina.
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
