At Healthy You Me wellness groups, everything begins at the table — not with silence or separation, but with shared meals, laughter, and meaningful conversation. In a world where 90 to 95 percent of Deaf individuals are born to hearing parents who don’t use sign language, many grow up surrounded by conversations they can’t access. Over time, limited or denied communication access can lead to deep and lasting trauma for many Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind individuals. 

But at Healthy You Me, everyone is part of the dialogue. 

Around these tables, Deaf and hard-of-hearing community members come together to build friendships, strengthen their health, and support one another. 

“We start the sessions by eating together,” says Theresa Miracle, Executive Director of the Communication Access Center (CAC) and co-facilitator of Healthy You Me. “There is no negativity sitting around the table, no negative experience in the space. It is very positive.” 

Healthy You Me is the only addiction and recovery group in Michigan conducted entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). Launched three years ago by Miracle and co-facilitator Pastor Thomas Dunseth, the program began as a small circle of three or four participants. Today, it welcomes an average of 25 individuals each week at locations in Flint and Clio. 

The idea was born out of a clear need. More than 100 addiction recovery programs operate in Genesee County, but not one was designed with the Deaf community in mind. Miracle and Dunseth envisioned a space that was not only accessible, but affirming — one where Deaf culture is centered, not accommodated. 

“Immediately, you put a Deaf person within a hearing group, with an interpreter, and already you’re not the same,” says co-facilitator Pastor Thomas Dunseth. “We developed the program to be more visual, using PowerPoints and fewer written English words, to match Deaf culture.” 

In 2024, Healthy You Me received a $15,000 grant from the Tuuri Health Fund to support its continued growth. The funding helps cover interpreter costs, transportation, meals, and new outreach efforts. 

What started as a recovery group has grown into a wellness community. The program has now embraced whole body health, incorporating sign-language-based exercise classes and even forming the largest Deaf group to participate in the Crim Festival of Races. 

Miracle emphasizes that the systems surrounding the Deaf community are not always designed with their language or lived experiences in mind. At Healthy You Me, healing happens by centering Deaf culture and creating a space with resilience, confidence, and belonging. 

“I’ve seen lives transformed. People are becoming healthier in their attitudes, the way they speak, and the way they feel about themselves,” says Miracle. “When I see people stand up and say, ‘I’m a Deaf person, and I’m proud,’ that is the key.”