{"id":14306,"date":"2011-05-09T20:01:23","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T01:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=14306"},"modified":"2011-05-09T20:47:28","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T01:47:28","slug":"houston-police-in-hot-pursuit-of-accessible-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/09\/houston-police-in-hot-pursuit-of-accessible-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Police in Hot Pursuit of Accessible Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>HOUSTON POLICE IN HOT PURSUIT OF ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>April 2011 \u2013 Deaf Link, a Texas-based accessible communications company, is<br \/>\npleased to recognize the Houston Police Department for providing video<br \/>\nremote interpreting (VRI) technology for ASL users in the city of Houston.<br \/>\nThis addition of VRI along with existing community interpreting agreements<br \/>\nprovides the HPD and Houston residents with a cost effective and time<br \/>\nefficient solution in providing ASL accessibility.<\/p>\n<p>Houston is the nation\u2019s 4th largest city, with over two million residents.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Houston of Deaf Link has been assisting HPD with implementing this<br \/>\naccess along with providing ASL cultural education, \u201cWe have been fortunate<br \/>\nto work closely with Officer James Sobota, the point person for the HPD VRI<br \/>\nproject who himself possesses knowledge of basic sign language. HPD has<br \/>\nraised the bar on including a large segment of society often<br \/>\noverlooked, citizens who rely on ASL to communicate. Now with VRI and onsite<br \/>\ninterpreter agencies and internal training, HPD has elevated its commitment<br \/>\nto serve and protect all citizens including those who rely on ASL\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Officer Sobota added, \u201cThe HPD has established VRI units at 17 locations<br \/>\nthroughout the city. While interviewing many companies in the country, Deaf<br \/>\nLink stood out with experience and service. Deaf Link was able to assist us<br \/>\nfrom the first inquired phone call all the way to installation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaitlyn Tracey with the Houston Mayor&#8217;s Office for People with Disabilities<br \/>\nhad this to say in praise, \u201cWe applaud the efforts of the Houston Police<br \/>\nDepartment and Officer James Sobota in recognizing the need for accessible<br \/>\ncommunication at police stations. This is a large step forward for the deaf<br \/>\ncommunity and the city of Houston and hopefully will serve as a platform for<br \/>\nfuture accommodations for the deaf community throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paul Rutowski, President of the Texas Association of the Deaf (TAD), also<br \/>\nhad high praise, &#8220;TAD appreciates HPD&#8217;s efforts in bringing better<br \/>\ncommunication between HPD and the Deaf\/Hard of Hearing Community by<br \/>\nproviding Sign Language interpreters, be it live in person or via modern<br \/>\ntechnology such as VRI.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>VRI has been around for almost 10 years, but not until the recent ADA<br \/>\nAmendment Act of 2008 has it been officially recognized as an accommodation<br \/>\nsolution. VRI is not meant to replace community interpreters \u2013 it is a tool<br \/>\nthat allows a limited resource (interpreters) to be managed more<br \/>\neffectively, providing an increased range of access for ASL users across the<br \/>\nspectrum of daily living, often unscheduled. \u201cLife is more than just a phone<br \/>\ncall,\u201d says Scott Bailey of Deaf Link, \u201chaving VRI access allows us to fully<br \/>\nparticipate in whatever life brings our way. I\u2019d love to see VRI everywhere;<br \/>\nit would be like having an interpreter in my pocket. It\u2019s still<br \/>\nvery important that businesses and consumers understand the difference<br \/>\nbetween VRI and VRS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lets all applaud the HPD for being proactive in providing ADA and Civil<br \/>\nRights accommodations. Too often ASL users must \u201cfight city hall\u201d in<br \/>\nobtaining this kind of access \u2013 not in Houston, not this time. One small<br \/>\nstep for Houston, one giant step for ASL access. Does your police department<br \/>\nor city hall provide this kind of access?<\/p>\n<p>For more information about HPD\u2019s VRI access, contact:<br \/>\nOfficer James Sobota &#8211; James.Sobota@cityofhouston.net<br \/>\nFor more information about Video Remote Interpreting, contact:<br \/>\ninfo@deaflink.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HOUSTON POLICE IN HOT PURSUIT OF ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS April 2011 \u2013 Deaf Link, a Texas-based accessible communications company, is pleased to recognize the Houston Police Department for providing video remote interpreting (VRI) technology for ASL users in the city of&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/05\/09\/houston-police-in-hot-pursuit-of-accessible-communications\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1334,1204,114,1629,23,9281,769,1573,35,24,643,6599,105,1412,20,6559,9278,2984,9279,9280,3955,2269,1085,871,8127,852,17,853,102,103,61],"class_list":["post-14306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-accessible","tag-accommodations","tag-ada","tag-american-sign-language","tag-asl","tag-asl-cultural-education","tag-civil-rights","tag-communications","tag-community","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-link","tag-deaflink","tag-education","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-houston","tag-houston-police-department","tag-hpd","tag-interpreters","tag-james-sobota","tag-kaitlyn-tracey","tag-mayors-office-for-people-with-disabilities","tag-mike-houston","tag-paul-rutowski","tag-police","tag-scott-bailey","tag-tad","tag-texas","tag-texas-association-of-the-deaf","tag-video-remote-interpreting","tag-vri","tag-vrs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-3IK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22887,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/04\/30\/hpd-police-week-dhh-day-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":0},"title":"HPD Police Week D\/HH Day &#8211; Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Houston Police Department Annual Police Week Activities \u201cDeaf\/ Hard of Hearing Day\u201d Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Location: Houston Police Academy 17000 Aldine Westfield Houston, Texas 77073 Time: 9: 30 A.M. \u2013 1:00 P.M. **ASL Interpreters will be provided** The Houston Police Department will observe National Police Week beginning Monday, May\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"houston police department","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/houston-police-department.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20921,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/11\/30\/reminder-wink-windell-smith-jr-is-coming-to-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":1},"title":"REMINDER: Wink, Windell Smith Jr is Coming to Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Show and Workshops By Wink - Houston By: Wink, NIC Master January 25, 2013: Performance \u201cMy Father\u2019s Gift\u201d 6:30pm - 9:30pm. January 26, 2013: Workshops! Space Walk 9am - 12pm (.3 CEUs) Blockbuster: Cinematic ASL 1pm - 4pm (.3 CEUs) Space Walk $30.00 Blockbuster $30.00 Combo (Both Workshops) $55.00 Wink,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19535,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/08\/06\/positive-interaction-program-8712-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":2},"title":"Positive Interaction Program 8\/7\/12 &#8211; Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"August Meeting of P.I.P. DATE: August 7, 2012 TIME: 7 pm till 8:30 pm ADDRESS: 9920 Long Point Dr. Houston, Texas 77055 In El Paso, a deaf man was arrested, booked and held for 11 days without access to a sign language interpreter. The police tried to communicate with him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21515,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/01\/18\/reminder-wink-show-workshop-is-coming-to-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":3},"title":"REMINDER: Wink Show &#038; Workshop is Coming to Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Show and Workshops By Wink \u2013 Houston By: Wink, NIC Master January 25, 2013: Performance \u201cMy Father\u2019s Gift\u201d 6:30pm \u2013 9:30pm Short video: and it cost $10.00 dollars January 26, 2013: Workshops! Space Walk 9am \u2013 12pm (.3 CEUs) Blockbuster: Cinematic ASL 1pm \u2013 4pm (.3 CEUs) Space Walk $30.00\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34030,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/08\/11\/reschedule-houstons-rally-and-protest-of-the-forced-use-of-the-vri\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":4},"title":"RESCHEDULE: Houston&#8217;s Rally and Protest of the Forced Use of the VRI","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"RESCHEDULED DATE FOR HOUSTON'S RALLY AND PROTEST OF THE FORCED USE OF THE VRI DATE: AUGUST 18, 2016 TIME: 10:00 am till 1:00 pm ADDRESS: 1475 WEST GREY STREET HOUSTON, TX 77019 THE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED DAT OF TUESDAY, AUGUST 9th FOR THE RALLY AND PROTEST OF THE FORCED USE OF\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20413,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/10\/19\/wink-windell-smith-jr-is-coming-to-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":14306,"position":5},"title":"Wink, Windell Smith Jr is Coming to Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Show and Workshops By Wink - Houston By: Wink, NIC Master January 25, 2013: Performance \u201cMy Father\u2019s Gift\u201d 6:30pm - 9:30pm. 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Space Walk 9am - 12pm (.3 CEUs) Blockbuster: Cinematic ASL 1pm - 4pm (.3 CEUs) Space Walk $30.00 Blockbuster $30.00 Combo (Both Workshops) $55.00 Wink,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14313,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14306\/revisions\/14313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}