You can contact us at

 Voice: 506-633-0599
  TTY:  506-634-8037
  Fax  : 506-652-3382
  Cell : 506-333-6526

 Address:
 324 Duke Street West
 Saint John, NB E2M 1V2

Open Monday to Friday
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Closed from Noon till 1 pm

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Bridging the gap...
Working together we can make a difference.

Definition of 'Deaf'

The Issue
How do we define deafness?

The Canadian Association of the Deaf's (CAD) position
Deafness is medically defined by the extent of loss of functional hearing and by dependence upon visual communication.

CAD recognizes a person to be medically/audiologically deaf when that person has little or no functional hearing and depends upon visual rather than auditry communication.  "Visual means of communication' includes Sign Language, lipreading, speechreading, and reading and writing.  "Auditory means of communication" includes voice, hearing, and hearing aids and devices.

To read more of this article from the Canadian Association of the Deaf click here.

SJDHHS is a member agency of the United Way of Greater Saint John

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Meet the Staff of SJDHHS
ASL VISTA Program and Immersion Program
Gerald Frazee
Gerald is one of our Senior Instructors and has been teaching the ASL Vista Program since 1997.  He has his ASL Instructor Training Certificate from the Nova Scotia Community College.  Gerald has been one of the ASL Immersion Program Instructors since its beginning in 2004.  He received his training from the Winnipeg and Halifax Immersion Programs.

Walter (Wally) Jenkins
Wally is one of our Senior Instructors and has been teaching the ASL Vista Program since 1997.  He has his ASL Instructor Training Certificate from the Nova Scotia Community College.  Wally has been one the ASL Immersion Program instructors since its beginning in 2004.  He received his training from the Winnipeg and Halifax Immersion Programs.

Joann Bourque
Joann is a Language Acquisition Support Worker (LASW) as well as being an instructor in our Immersion Program.  She has been with program since its beginning in 2004.
Paula Jenkins
Paula has been involved as an instructor with the Immersion Program since its beginning in 2004.
Sharon Fitzpatrick
Sharon has her ASL Instructor Training Certificate from the Nova Scotia Community College and has been teaching in the Immersion Program since 2005.  She teaches our VISTA Sign Language Program out of Fredericton and also provides language development services with our Early Intervention Program.
Chrissy Montgomery
Chrissy is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia and graduate from the NSCC AEIP program in 2003 as a Deaf Interpreter.  She currently lives in the Fredericton area and works in the community as a community support worker.  She is an active member of both the provincial (AVLI-NB) and national (AVLIC) professional associations.  She also teaches in our VISTA Signing Naturally Program out of Fredericton, as well as provides language development services in our early intervention program
Wanda Berrette
Wanda is a graduate of Gallaudet University and trained as a Deaf Interpreter through the Canadian Hearing Society.  Wanda has been working in the field of Deaf Literacy since 1991 in Sudbury, Ontario.  She moved to Saint John to continue her career in Deaf Literacy in September of 2005.