Showing posts with label Video Relay Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Relay Service. Show all posts
VIDEO: Deaf News - Cleveland Police Department gets new video relay service equipment to assist Deaf community.
CLEVELAND, OH -- The Cleveland Police Department has invested in new equipment to help its officers better serve the Deaf community.
The department announced Wednesday that all officers have been trained to use video technology that gives them instant access to an American Sign Language interpreter.
Officials from the police department and local advocates for the hearing-impaired demonstrated the new equipment Thursday.
"The reality is there are barriers in place for some members of our community," Cleveland police Capt. James McPike said. "This grant was intended to try to remove those barriers for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community."
Each of the city's five police districts is stocked with an iPad equipped with the ZVRS video interpreter application. The application gives officers dealing with a Deaf crime victim, suspect or witness access to an interpreter within seconds.
The technology was purchased using a portion of a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women that was awarded to the department in 2011, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.
The Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center and the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center helped train the police force.
Deaf women in the U.S. experience domestic and sexual violence at rates twice those of hearing women, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for fairness in the justice system. Yet they often encounter barriers when seeking help, from a phone-based 911 system to having their credibility as witnesses in court questioned.
The police department purchased the equipment after getting feedback from the Deaf community, said Maria O'Neil Ruddock, coordinator of training and outreach services for the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center.
"The reason it's here is because the Deaf community has told us, 'We want access to the police, we want to be able to communicate, but it's difficult,'" O'Neil Ruddock said.
Cleveland is only one of two large police departments in the country using this technology, she added.
The department is also updating its general police orders to include a policy about communicating with the Deaf, McPike said. A draft of that policy is still in the approval stage.
Ciaccia said the interpreting technology is not related to a binding agreement with the Justice Department that requires the Cleveland police to improve the way they interact with citizens. The addition of the technology is the latest in a string of efforts by the department to expand training.
Mayor Frank Jackson announced in December that officers received first aid training and emergency medical kits.
The Cleveland Police Academy class that graduated in October was the first to receive 40 hours of crisis intervention training.
SOURCE
CLEVELAND, OH -- The Cleveland Police Department has invested in new equipment to help its officers better serve the Deaf community.
The department announced Wednesday that all officers have been trained to use video technology that gives them instant access to an American Sign Language interpreter.
Officials from the police department and local advocates for the hearing-impaired demonstrated the new equipment Thursday.
"The reality is there are barriers in place for some members of our community," Cleveland police Capt. James McPike said. "This grant was intended to try to remove those barriers for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community."
Each of the city's five police districts is stocked with an iPad equipped with the ZVRS video interpreter application. The application gives officers dealing with a Deaf crime victim, suspect or witness access to an interpreter within seconds.
The technology was purchased using a portion of a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women that was awarded to the department in 2011, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.
The Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center and the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center helped train the police force.
Deaf women in the U.S. experience domestic and sexual violence at rates twice those of hearing women, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for fairness in the justice system. Yet they often encounter barriers when seeking help, from a phone-based 911 system to having their credibility as witnesses in court questioned.
The police department purchased the equipment after getting feedback from the Deaf community, said Maria O'Neil Ruddock, coordinator of training and outreach services for the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center.
"The reason it's here is because the Deaf community has told us, 'We want access to the police, we want to be able to communicate, but it's difficult,'" O'Neil Ruddock said.
Cleveland is only one of two large police departments in the country using this technology, she added.
The department is also updating its general police orders to include a policy about communicating with the Deaf, McPike said. A draft of that policy is still in the approval stage.
Ciaccia said the interpreting technology is not related to a binding agreement with the Justice Department that requires the Cleveland police to improve the way they interact with citizens. The addition of the technology is the latest in a string of efforts by the department to expand training.
Mayor Frank Jackson announced in December that officers received first aid training and emergency medical kits.
The Cleveland Police Academy class that graduated in October was the first to receive 40 hours of crisis intervention training.
SOURCE
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: CRTC announces the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people across Canada will have access to new video relay service in 2015!
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced on April 22, 2014, that video relay services (VRS) will now be available in Canada for Deaf people who communicate in American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ). Video relay services enable callers to use the services of a sign language interpreter through the Internet. The interpreter interprets spoken English into sign for the deaf caller, and voices into English the signs of the deaf caller.
“Many Canadians who are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired learn American Sign Language or Langue des signes québécoise early in life," Peter Menzies, Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications, and Chairman of the hearing panel.
"In many cases, neither English nor French is their first language. Video relay service will make it possible for them to communicate in sign language with ease, whether it’s to make a doctor’s appointment, speak to a friend or make any other type of call. At the same time, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that this service is introduced in an efficient manner and as quickly as possible.”
Users will require their own high-speed Internet service and a device connected to the Internet such as a smartphone, tablet, computer, or videophone. Additional services such as call display and voicemail will be billed at rates similar to those charged by other service providers.
An independent administrator will be created to supervise the implementation and provision of video relay services and ensure that the views of users are taken into account during the decision-making process. The CRTC will review the video relay service three years after it has been launched to determine whether the service is efficiently meeting the needs of Canadians.
The CRTC is requiring that VRS become available to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing or speech impaired as early as the fall of 2015. The VRS service is offered at no charge, but users must sign up to use it. People who want to use the service can use their own phone number to access VRS. An estimated 20,000 Canadians will be the primary users of VRS. ... Read more: http://www.examiner.com/article/video-relay-services-for-the-deaf-people-who-use-sign-language-comes-to-canada
Chris Kenopic Vlog On CRTC VRS Announcement.
"CRTC announces that Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired people across Canada will have access to new telecommunications services in 2015! Chris Kenopic, president and CEO of the Canadian Hearing Society, delivers a vlog on VRS in Canada."
What If... The Quest for VRS in Canada.
"The BCVRS Committee has co-produced a short documentary-drama film with Lenois Productions. It speaks directly to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commissioners about the reality of TTY vs. VRS in the Deaf community of Canada."
Funding to support video relay service in Canada will be taken from the National Contribution Fund, and will be capped at CAD 30 million annually. To ensure the perspectives of users are reflected in the decision making process, an independent administrator will be created to oversee the implementation and provision of video relay service. ... Read more www.telecompaper.com news crtc unveils video relay service for deaf speech impaired
“Many Canadians who are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired learn American Sign Language or Langue des signes québécoise early in life," Peter Menzies, Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications, and Chairman of the hearing panel.
"In many cases, neither English nor French is their first language. Video relay service will make it possible for them to communicate in sign language with ease, whether it’s to make a doctor’s appointment, speak to a friend or make any other type of call. At the same time, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that this service is introduced in an efficient manner and as quickly as possible.”
Users will require their own high-speed Internet service and a device connected to the Internet such as a smartphone, tablet, computer, or videophone. Additional services such as call display and voicemail will be billed at rates similar to those charged by other service providers.
An independent administrator will be created to supervise the implementation and provision of video relay services and ensure that the views of users are taken into account during the decision-making process. The CRTC will review the video relay service three years after it has been launched to determine whether the service is efficiently meeting the needs of Canadians.
The CRTC is requiring that VRS become available to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing or speech impaired as early as the fall of 2015. The VRS service is offered at no charge, but users must sign up to use it. People who want to use the service can use their own phone number to access VRS. An estimated 20,000 Canadians will be the primary users of VRS. ... Read more: http://www.examiner.com/article/video-relay-services-for-the-deaf-people-who-use-sign-language-comes-to-canada
Chris Kenopic Vlog On CRTC VRS Announcement.
"CRTC announces that Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired people across Canada will have access to new telecommunications services in 2015! Chris Kenopic, president and CEO of the Canadian Hearing Society, delivers a vlog on VRS in Canada."
What If... The Quest for VRS in Canada.
"The BCVRS Committee has co-produced a short documentary-drama film with Lenois Productions. It speaks directly to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commissioners about the reality of TTY vs. VRS in the Deaf community of Canada."
Funding to support video relay service in Canada will be taken from the National Contribution Fund, and will be capped at CAD 30 million annually. To ensure the perspectives of users are reflected in the decision making process, an independent administrator will be created to oversee the implementation and provision of video relay service. ... Read more www.telecompaper.com news crtc unveils video relay service for deaf speech impaired
