There is so much in everyday life that many of us take for granted.
Like picking up a phone and calling someone. We talk, they can hear what we’re saying and visa versa. However, there are many people who are not able to do something so seemingly simple. They may be deaf or hard of hearing, or they may have cognitive, mobility, or speech difficulty. That’s where the group Maryland Relay comes in.
Asia Johnson and Brenda Kelly Frey are with Maryland Relay and they join us in Historic Studio D. Maryland Relay is the free public service that allows anyone who wants to communicate with someone who is hearing, Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, Deaf-Blind or who has difficulty speaking via a standard telephone line. Maryland Relay is administered by Telecommunications Access of Maryland through the Maryland Department of Information Technology.
Maryland Relay provides both a free service – available 24/7 by dialing 7-1-1 – that helps these individuals facilitate a call with assistance from a third-party operator; as well as an equipment distribution program that provides assistive telecommunications equipment (including Captioned Telephones, mobile tablets, ring signalers, amplified phones, etc.) to Maryland residents who would not otherwise be able to afford to purchase it.
One year ago, Maryland Relay announced the addition of tablets to its equipment distribution program, and over the past year, they have provided more than 400 tablets to low-income Marylanders to assist with telecommunication.
Find out if you qualify by going to their website here or calling 800-552-7724.
