November 19, 1999
One out of ten Californians find using the telephone difficult or impossible due to a physical impairment or disability, but that is changing. They may now communicate more easily, thanks to a relatively little known state program which is consolidating and expanding to bring them special equipment and services-free of charge.
Working people like Julia Olson, a Manlo Park, CA-based interior designer who is hard-of-hearing, appreciate the special equipment. "I'd be hesitant to call people if I didn't have this amplified phone," she says. "I really depend on it."
Or, students like Shanna Grossinger, a San Francisco Bay Area elementary school student who is deaf, and asks, "Without this equipment, how else could I call my friends if I have a problem with my homework?"
Special technology telephone equipment has opened doors for many to build bridges throughout the community. The equipment is provided free by the State of California's Telephone Equipment Loan Program, which is administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
"I was disabled when I didn't have this equipment," says Evelyn Zola, a deaf teacher of American Sign Language (ASL) at the Martinez, CA Adult School and Los Medanos Community College in Pittsburg, CA. "But now, I'm able—to schedule my teaching work, and to arrange story-telling activities for deaf children in mainstream schools."
In breaking down barriers, special telephone equipment and services have allowed people access to once unavailable opportunities in mainstream society.
"Since the introduction of the Speech-to-Speech service, I call more people and a greater variety of places than ever before," says Winston Ching, a speech-and mobility-impaired Consumer Advocate who is a Bay area resident. "In fact, I have to make a conscientious effort to keep my phone bill within reason."
Technology Customized For Individual Needs
The free state program supplies equipment with diverse applications, including volume amplified telephones and flashing and vibrating call alert devices for people who are hard-of-hearing. People with restricted mobility can take advantage of cordless, remote control, and speaker phones. Text telephones (TTYs) allow deaf people to converse over the phone lines. Similar devices allow callers to type and hear, or to talk and read conversations, while telebraille devices assist people who are both deaf and blind. Fax machines are available to help people who need a TTY, but don't use the Roman alphabet. Other technology that can be custom tailored to an individual's needs ranges from artificial larynx devices to big button phones and large visual display and memory dial telephones.
Specially trained telephone operators are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to relay text and voice between callers, allowing those using special equipment and the standard telephone handset to communicate almost seam-lessly. Currently, services are available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language adapted for use on TTYs. Operators also provide a Speech-to-Speech service, voicing for people who are speech-disabled. All standard operator services, including directory assistance, are available at no extra charge.
Consumers can obtain easy to complete applications for special technology equipment by calling 1-800-770-7794, extension 18, or contacting their local telephone company. The applications simply need to be endorsed by a medical doctor or audiologist.
Benefits Affect Wider Community
The "California Relay Service and Communications Devices Fund" surcharge of 0.18% on toll calls made within the state, funds the relatively little known California Telephone Equipment Loan Program (CTELP) and the California Relay Services (CRS). Together, they make up the $53 million Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP). Despite its name, the DDTP's users are mainly from the state's population of hard-of-hearing people, estimated as 1.2 million Californians sixteen or older.
So far, approximately 400,000 Californians take advantage of telephone equipment distributed by CTEP, and in 1998, the CRS handled more than 7 million telephone calls for people with disabilities. "Now we all can communicate! The untapped potential for the benefits of our program are truly amazing," says DDTP Executive Director Shelley Bergum. "All Californians can profit through increased opportunities for telephone communication between eligible consumers and their families and communities. Commerce, industry, government and education can benefit, too."
Carolyn Murray, a hard-of-hearing Family Advocate for the Head Start program in Oakland, CA is enthusiastic about the program. "I'm eternally grateful," she says. "I wouldn't have applied for my job without this equipment. It's immensely essential to my job performance."
Stephen Compton, a late-deafened Senior Copy Editor with PC World magazine in San Francisco used the special equipment to further his career. "Initially, I used a TTY to get job interviews," he says. "Now, it's the way I keep in touch with my family. I can call them, and they can call me."
Daniel Arrelanes also takes advantage
of the program for business and personal communications. "I
use the CRS all the time to talk with my boss for work, and to
call different businesses," says the Maintenance Worker for
the YMCA in San Francisco, CA, who is deaf. "I also use it
to check that my parents are OK, and to keep in touch with my
daughter."
State Program Being
Consolidated, Expanded
Highlights of the DDTP's newly centralized and expanded program were celebrated on October 26, 1999 at the official opening of the State headquarters for CTELP, CRS and DDTP, at 505 14th Street, Oakland, CA. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Henry M. Duque, a Commissioner of the CPUC, cut a steel chain, instead of the traditional ribbon, to dramatize the occasion's "Freedom to Communicate" theme. The chain symbolized barriers to mainstream society experienced by people who have so far not been able to communicate by telephone easily —or at all— due to physical limitations.
"Centralized and consolidated services from our new location will enable us to serve more consumers more efficiently, and to manage our program more effectively," says DDTP's Bergum. "Beginning early next year, we will provide a single statewide toll-free number to a call center where consumers can obtain applications, order new equipment, and learn how to take full advantage of our wonderful products and services."
DDTP's newly streamlined operations will also make it possible to offer eligible consumers a wider variety of telecommunications equipment and provide them with more extensive training and follow-up services.
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