The Holley Institute

The Holley Institute was founded in 1993 by its current president, Ardis J. Gardella. Its mission is to assist the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing (DDBHH) by providing services and programs aimed at improving their quality of life. The Holley Institute screens all infants (approximately 3,500 per year) born at Henry Ford St. John for hearing loss and deafness.  The Institute provides nearly 2,500 children and adults with comprehensive and critical hearing services annually made up of education, training and mentoring for Deaf, Deaf/Blind and hard of hearing children, adults and their family members.  Audiology services offered include: diagnostic testing; hearing aid evaluations, fittings and follow-up; assistive listening devices; and custom hearing protection devices, and communication ear molds.   

In conjunction with The Holley Institute, The Carls Family Village is a residential facility that provides unique education, training and mentoring opportunities for the DDBHH.  Set on 214 acres of beautiful lakefront grounds in Brooklyn, Michigan, the Carls Family Village provides housing and meals for program participants.  It also operates a theater and an art center for teaching, which produces and exhibits visual and performing art talents of the attending children.

The Carls Family Village is able to provide a safe, peaceful and comfortable environment where children, their parents and siblings can learn and grow together, overcoming and adapting to the challenges associated with hearing loss.  It is the only center of its kind in the country that offers special programs and activities focused solely for the benefit of DDBHH, adults and their families.  These programs include education for families with Deaf and Deaf-Blind children, youth leadership and art initiatives for deaf and hard of hearing students, self-advocacy workshops for Deaf/Blind adults, and classes in American sign language.