[NFBNJ] Fw: Press Release: Mental Health Videophone Support Available to Sign Language Users During COVID-19 Outbreak

Wed Apr 29 21:41:14 UTC 2020

    Greetings to all!

Received from Division of Disability Services, DDS.

Please review and share with others.
Joe

We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314

From: DDS Communications
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 5:23 PM
To: NJDDS at LISTSERV.DHS.NJ.GOV
Subject: Fw: Press Release: Mental Health Videophone Support Available to 
Sign Language Users During COVID-19 Outbreak

All,

The ACCESS Program at St. Joseph's Helpline Offers Emotional Support to Sign 
Language Users During the Coronavirus Pandemic. See details below.

Sincerely,

Peri

Peri L. Nearon, MPA

Executive Director, Division of Disability Services

Department of Human Services

Division of Disability Services

11A Quakerbridge Plaza

PO Box 705 Trenton, NJ  08625-0705

Main: 1-888-285-3036

Fax: 609-631-4365

http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dds/home/index.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mental Health Videophone Support Available to Assist Sign Language Users 
During COVID-19 Outbreak

The ACCESS Program at St. Joseph's Helpline Offers Emotional Support to Sign 
Language Users During the Coronavirus Pandemic

April 29, 2020

(TRENTON) ï¿½ A free emotional support helpline is now available to deaf and 
hard of hearing New Jerseyans feeling the emotional and mental toll of 
COVID-19.

With support from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, ACCESS at St. 
Joseph's Health in Paterson is offering help in American Sign Language to 
people dealing with anxiety and worry related to the Novel Coronavirus 
(COVID-19) outbreak. New Jerseyans can call the videophone helpline at 
973-870-0677 for free, confidential support. Direct communication in sign 
language will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by live 
trained specialists.

NJ Human Servicesï¿½ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and its 
Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are providing support to ACCESS at 
St. Joseph's to operate the helpline.

ï¿½This is a very challenging time for so many of us,ï¿½ said NJ Human Services 
Commissioner Carole Johnson. ï¿½We want to make sure that all New Jerseyans 
have a safe space to communicate to someone about their worries and 
concerns. This videophone helpline ensures that New Jerseyans who are deaf 
and hard of hearing can get the help they need.ï¿½

ï¿½Staying connected with others can help reduce anxiety and make people feel 
more in control,ï¿½ Human Servicesï¿½ Division of Mental Health and Addiction 
Services Assistant Commissioner Valerie Mielke said. ï¿½The trained 
specialists answering these videophones can help people take care of their 
mental health during this difficult time.ï¿½

ï¿½Having the opportunity to communicate directly in sign language with a 
trained staff person can go a long way toward reducing anxiety and creating 
a safe space to talk about oneï¿½s worries,ï¿½ said Elizabeth Hill, Director of 
Human Servicesï¿½ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. ï¿½We are proud to 
partner with our colleagues at the Division of Mental Health and Addiction 
Services as well as ACCESS at St. Josephï¿½s on this initiative.ï¿½

ï¿½We are so pleased to have this opportunity to provide emotional support and 
resources to the deaf and hard of hearing residents of New Jersey via 
American Sign Language using the newly established videophone helpline,ï¿½ 
said Carol Uckar, Director of ACCESS at St. Josephï¿½s Health

ï¿½St. Josephï¿½s Health is dedicated to providing outreach and support to all 
individuals in need, and this was a natural step.  We are proud to be able 
to provide this additional resource for our community,ï¿½ said Tina Miles, 
Director of Behavioral Health Services at St. Josephï¿½s Health.

ACCESS at St. Joseph's has long served New Jersey's deaf and hard of hearing 
individuals in need of mental health support through culturally and 
linguistically appropriate staff. ACCESS will also continue to offer general 
mental health support and referral. It does not provide any medical or 
financial advice or referrals.

This videophone is in addition to NJ Human Servicesï¿½ mental health support 
line offered through the Mental Health Association of New Jersey. 
NJMentalHealthCares offers free, confidential support seven days a week from 
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. New Jerseyans can call 1-866-202-HELP (4357) to reach live, 
trained specialists. Deaf and hard of hearing individuals can also call 
1-877-294-4356 TTY.

The Division of Deaf and Hard of Hearing has also launched a website for the 
latest COVID-19 information: 
https://nj.gov/humanservices/ddhh/coronavirus.shtml. The website offers 
videos with ASL translation, communication access tips for dealing with 
healthcare professionals during COVID-19, as well as COVID-19 communication 
cards available in English and Spanish.

###

Follow the Department of Human Services:

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedImagebase640.png
Type: image/png
Size: 22351 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 14336 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1346 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1104 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2538 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image013.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1220 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbnj_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200429/ad7245f8/attachment-0004.png>