Deaf-blind SSP Services

Do you have experience with hearing or vision loss? Are you interested in being trained as an SSP (Support Service Provider)? Click on the following:

Click here for the application to become an SSP.

Click here for the application to become a deaf-blind consumer.

In the Fall of 2013 DeafCAN! began providing the first professional SSP (Support Service Provider) services in Pennsylvania.  These services grew out of two years of teaming with DeafBlind community members to better understand who these various individuals were and what they needed/wanted.  With a large pool of committed volunteer SSPs and critical seed funding we all learned together and established a Deaf-Blind Advisory Committee.  

Each year DeafCAN! provides SSPs to an average of 30 deaf-blind individuals in five different counties.  DeafCAN! currently has 10 paid SSP staff and more than 20 SSP volunteers. Deaf-Blind consumers who qualify can receive up to ten hours of SSP services per month. All of these services are managed by our SSP Coordinator, Scott Stoffel who is deaf-blind himself. 

In order to qualify for SSP services (at no cost) a person must:

  • Provide documentation from a medical provider of their hearing & vision loss.
  • Live in one of the following eight counties:  Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, Berks, Lancaster, or Lebanon.
  • Be able to independently direct the services of an SSP.

SSPs assist DB individuals in doing things that they need/want to do:

  • Navigating and communication for shopping, medical appointments, banking, meeting with friends, family, and others…
  • Help to handle and understand email and mail, assist with paying bills, phone calls and other communication.
  • Support during travel, pursuit of employment and community participation.

SSPs do not ‘do things for’ DB people.  For example, they do not provide maintenance, cooking, or cleaning but they can assist the DB consumer in doing all of the above.

DeafCAN! holds regular SSP trainings.

If you have questions about eligibility, or need clarification on how an SSP might work with individuals who are deaf-blind, please contact our office at BillLockard@deafcanpa.org or 484-477-6489.

See how deaf-blind man from Brazil gets to follow the World Cup.