It has been a longtime dream for NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing to have its own facility, which would not only include all services and programs, but additional space and funding for services in the following areas:

Family Services Unit

Since many in the deaf community do not have access to the voluminous educational and preventative information and training available to the general population, the top priority for the future is a comprehensive family service unit. This unit would include Teen Center and Domestic Violence Services. Teen Center would provide a variety of services for youth including housing assistance, leadership training, summer day camp, employment readiness and recreational programs, combined with services currently available through our Teen Scene: Being Responsible and Drug/Alcohol Intervention and Prevention. Domestic Violence Services would include a "safe house" for deaf and hard of hearing victims of domestic violence. It has been our experience that high school runaways, and women opt to return to the abusive situations where there is communication rather than remain lonely and isolated in a safe house without communication access. This unit would also supplement existing services to address the individual as a whole: drug & alcohol substance abuse, illiteracy, socially appropriate behaviors for independent living, HIV/AIDS education, anger management, responsible parenting, and financial management.

In addition to the two components above, with the implementation of newborn hearing screening in California, there are families in need for support. It is envisioned that a comprehensive program would work with the families in providing home visits for learning tools that promote communication and inclusion, support groups to connect with other families with similar experiences, community events for meeting deaf and hard of hearing adults, assistance for making educational decisions and linkage with school services and programs.

Daycare Unit

Parents with deaf children as well as deaf parents with hearing children are always looking for "deaf-oriented child-care" which would provide early and continuing communication so essential to early language development. More importantly, a daycare facility at NorCal would allow the parent to utilize and participate in NorCal services and programs without the worrisome need and/or excuse of child care.

Health Services


For special populations, especially those cut off from communication in the world around them - - deaf and hard of hearing individuals, special programs are needed. A perpetual problem is the lack of communication access at medical facilities and the support and special attention needed for extremely sensitive situations. These services include support for parents of newly identified deaf infants; audiological services; coordinated services for deaf people with HIV and AIDS; senior citizen outreach to retirement centers and nursing homes. It is hoped that someday NorCal can have its own "home for the aged deaf" to assist those needing to cope with hearing losses at the final decades of their lives, eliminating the loneliness and desperation that one often feels when deafened and cut off from the rest of the world because communication by "sound" alone is no longer possible.

Mental Health Services

There is an evident and ongoing need for on-site licensed MFCCs and psychiatric service providers who can directly communicate with deaf and hard of hearing individuals and children as necessary to properly assess, diagnose and counsel and/or treat psychological dysfunction's and psychiatric disorders. More specifically, a level-12 treatment facility for deaf and hard of hearing children with severe emotional disabilities is needed.

Wish List

Our "wish list" includes more staffing at every site to assist with provision of services currently delivered to meet the growing demands of the population we serve.

• Legal Advocacy and Representation
• Social Security and Low-Income Access To Government Services
• Foster Home Referral
• ADA Compliance Services
• Community Education
• In-home Independent Living Skills Training

A Gentle Reminder


Our services are for individuals of all ages, "from the womb to the tomb", individuals of all "colors of the rainbow", and all individuals with hearing loss ranging from mild to profound. NorCal does not discriminate on the basis of communication preferences, gender, race, ancestry or national origin, or religion.

NorCal is an intervention and prevention social service agency, designed to break down the barriers to effective communication necessary for happiness and success in all aspects of a deaf or hard of hearing person's life.

Your ongoing support, whether as a donor or a volunteer, is critical for NorCal to endure and prevail as the bridge for all gaps still experienced by deaf and hard of hearing individuals.