DASH is pleased to announce that we now have the capacity to do video relay interpreting (VRI) and  video relay service so our Deaf participants can call other Deaf people.  This helps us greatly to be able to responsibly serve our Deaf survivors. DAWN (an organization that works with Deaf survivors) has told us that DASH is the only domestic violence prevention organization in DC that has this capacity.

VRS: Video relay service allows a deaf individual to call another deaf individual and communicate using ASL via a web video. Essentially, it allows deaf individual to sign to another deaf individual over a streaming video camera.

The following explains the services:

VRI: Video relay interpreting allows a deaf individual to call a hearing individual and communicate through an ASL interpreter. A deaf individual will call an interpreter and communicate with them through a streaming video camera while the interpreter communicates with the hearing individual via phone.

When Deaf people call hearing people they typically use a video phone so that a relay service can do the talking.  That’s what Deaf people use when they call DASH, and most Deaf people communicate using a video phones.  When Deaf survivors come to DASH they need not worry about not having a video phone because we now have the technology, along with the ability to have third party interpreting at a moment’s notice.

DASH can also receive calls from Deaf clients. We are including a screensaver shot so you can get a feel for what it looks like. All DASH has to do is click on the green bar that says “start interpreting session” and an interpreter will pop up (like skype) and interpret for us while we’re working with a Deaf participant.