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Hey, it's Fletch with the Avaya Podcast Network
and we're here at the NENA 2013 Conference & Exposition Center
we're sitting down with Jan Withers
from the North Carolina Division of Services for the deaf and hard of hearing
within the North Carolina Department of Human Services
Welcome to the podcast today here, Jan.
Hi, thank you.
Do you fit that title on one business card or does it fold out?
[laughs]
So Jan is responsible for services for the deaf
and hard of hearing in North Carolina
and working with 911 agencies
Why don't you give us an overview of how that works here in the state?
Sure.
We have about 1 million people in our state who have hearing loss.
There are deaf, hard of hearing and or deaf blind
and all of them could or need access to emergency services
and needing access to 911 call centers
So we have to work with 911 call centers to train them
and to make sure that they do have the skills
necessary to receive calls through TTY's
We also work with the Durham 911 call center
and we've helped them out with some testing
of their new Text-to-911 system
which was implemented about 2 or 3 years ago
and we're going to continue working with them
when they are ready to start delivery of their system, full scale
So it's really been an honor to have NENA's 2013 Conference
here in North Carolina too
and I'm just so thrilled to see everyone here talking about Text-to-911
It's a really hot issue
and it's really the new wave of what's happening with 911 call centers
I did some work with the Federal Communications Commission
on the Emergency Access Advisory Committee
where we were dealing with Text-to-911 issues
So it's something that really opened my eyes to the problem
and the fact that a person that was hard of hearing
or needed to use Text-to-911 really was treated like a second class citizen
and I felt that that was just a horrible, horrible thing for this country
So it was really great to see some improvements
What do think the biggest blockages to rolling this technology out on a wider scale?
Well, I really can't speak to that from a technical perspective
regarding all the technology
But now, with the fact is I know the technology is here, I do know that
and I would encourage 911 call centers
or people who are in position to make that happen to just recognize that we are here
and we deserve the same access to their system as everyone else does
Now, there are actually many more people
who could be affected by the system other than people with hearing loss
If you really think about it,
people who are deaf or hard of hearing, they have children
or they're parents or friends of theirs
who may need to be able to have them text 911
So there are other people who could be affected by this
so I think it's important that that'd be recognized
that we're here and we deserve equal access
I couldn't agree anymore.
Someone that I worked with quite a bit Sherrie Ferina
who works for advocacy group in California
Yes.
Told a story about how her husband was working on something
and cut his hand severely and she needed to call 911
The first 911 call, the equipment wasn't working or something happened
and it sounded like a hang up call
and it wasn't until 15 minutes later
where the call was dispatched as a hang up
that she actually had to flag down a police officer in the street
And that to me, when I look at things like that happening
in today's day and age with the technology that we have available
and the devices that everyone carries
to not have 911 work ubiquitously across that network,
I can't understand what the roadblock is
and when I look at the technology
and I worked with the groups
and I look at the things that are available at Gallaudet and everywhere else,
I don't see a problem which really bothers me the most, I think.
Yeah.
I know Sherrie myself
so I can imagine what she went through with that experience
and I actually have a personal experience that I can also share with,
I'd like to share with everyone here.
I live in Durham
and I was thrilled when Durham started Text-to-911
but actually, 3 months before that system was implemented in Durham,
I pulled off my neighborhood's listserv and just reading that,
someone had said that they had heard gunshots nearby
and they were giving a description of the person
who had seen that person leave or disappear
In about 10 minutes after that, I was in my car
to leave the house going to do some grocery shopping
and while I'm driving I actually saw a person who matched
the description that our neighbor put on our neighborhood listserv
I have my Blackberry with me but there was no way for me to text 911
and it took about 3 weeks
for the Durham police actually arrest this person
So just thinking, if I had that technology available to me at that time,
that person would have been arrested that day at that moment
So you are right, the technology is here
but the matter now is just taking the time and the effort
and we're here as an agency to work with 911 centers
in North Carolina to make that process happen
I think the main problem is the lack of understand
and the lack of communication
People just don't hear these stories
because I can't believe that if they did hear them
and they're not doing anything about them
So I think one of the biggest values is to get these stories out there
and let people know that there are technology solutions to these problem
and even on the FCC EAC committee, a lot of good work was done there
But time and time again, examples from Europe had to be provided
where they've already solved this problem with total conversation--video, text, everything
because they looked at it from a completely new point of view
and they just solved the problem and they didn't let the politics take over into the
problem
and I think if we just step back and solve the problem,
this could go away in a matter of months not a year
Yeah
And we are here to work with all the 911 call centers in North Carolina.
So anytime that they would like for us to participate,
to help them out, we'll be more than glad to do so
and I do applaud NENA for NENA's effort in spreading the word about this opportunity
Jan, I can't tell you what an honor and a pleasure
it's been to sit here and talk to you and get this message out.
If this helps save one life or enables Text-to-911 to happen one day earlier
then it's all been worth it
So thank you for being an advocate.
Thank you for sitting down with me today.
Thank you to your interpreter for letting this interview happen.
I'm truly honored.
Thank you very much.
And thank you for this opportunity.
It's been a pleasure.
Great.