During the last 25 years, DeafLEAD has become the central agency for providing direct services to Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and DeafBlind victims of crime and their families.  DeafLEAD has also become an advocacy center for Deaf abused women and children to support them through the system of shelters, agencies, law enforcement, and crime victim’s compensation.  The support services DeafLEAD offers benefit not only Deaf victims of crime, but also assists direct service providers in appropriately serving the Deaf individuals in their communities.

 

Who We Are

 

DeafLEAD (Leadership through Education & Advocacy for the Deaf) is a non-profit corporation of the state of Missouri.  DeafLEAD exists to provide individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing with comprehensive, unified and continuous support by enhancing socio-emotional development, effective communication and leadership through education within the state of Missouri.

 

Click here to see the staff directory.

 

Who We Serve

 

DeafLEAD has been providing statewide services to d/Deaf, DeafBlind, hard of hearing, late-deafened and hearing victims of crime for the last 25 years.  Below are descriptions of the varying terms used to identify hearing status. It must be noted these definitions are not set in stone, but are fluid and depend on the individual’s own identity.

 

• deaf – a general term that refers to individuals with any degree of hearing loss.
• Deaf – refers to those whose first or preferred language is American Sign Language and identify as a member of the Deaf community and Deaf culture.
• hard of hearing – most often refers to those who have a mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss.
• late-deafened – refers to those who were born hearing and became deaf later in life after learning to speak
• DeafBlind – refers to those who have some degree of vision and hearing loss.
• hearing – refers to those who have no degree of hearing loss and use spoken language.

 

DeafLEAD is the only organization in the nation to provide statewide direct services to Deaf and hard of hearing victims of crime.

 

 

What We Do

 

DeafLEAD’s target areas include domestic violence and sexual assault services, assistance for deaf and hard of hearing victims of crime and direct support for victim service agencies, shelters, organizations, law enforcement, emergency responders, mental health professionals, advocates, and circuit courts statewide serving Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to ensure they are being served in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way.

 

DeafLEAD focuses on providing quality direct services to Deaf victims that are readily available for hearing victims. DeafLEAD also works with the hearing community to educate them about the unique needs of Deaf victims of crime, Deaf culture and American Sign Language and at the same time, provide support in every area related to deafness and Deaf cultural issues.

 

Some of the specific services we provide include:

 

• 24-hour crisis hotline and VP services
• 24-hour crisis texting services
• 24-hour free interpreting services for Deaf victims of crime
• Free counseling for Deaf victims
• Crisis intervention
• Personal, medical and legal advocacy
• Case management for victims of crime
• Information and referral
• Networking and collaboration
• Service provider trainings
• Community education
• Family life education
• Public awareness

 

For resources on any of these services, please visit our Resources page.

 

Columbia Office

St. Louis Office