Virginia Relay has provided people with hearing or speech difficulties equal access to telephone communication since state relay services became federally mandated in 1991. To place calls through Virginia Relay, people who are deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind or speech disabled commonly use a TTY or some other assistive device. A TTY resembles a standard phone, except for a typewriter-style keyboard with letters and numbers, a screen for displaying text or a paper printout on which the conversation can be recorded.
By joining Virginia Relay Partner, businesses will receive online information or free on-site employee training about how to place and receive relay calls and how to distinguish them from prank and marketing calls.
"This is a win-win for business and for Virginians who use relay technology to place and receive telephone calls," said Governor Warner. "Users of Virginia Relay services will be encouraged to spend their dollars with participating businesses, and our outstanding employees at the Virginia Relay Center in Wise County will be able to help link registered businesses with a new and largely untapped customer base."
"A businessperson who is unfamiliar with relay calls often disconnects when they hear a relay operator on the line, thinking that they're receiving a solicitation or marketing call," Ron Lanier, Director of the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said. "But what they're actually hanging up on is the potential for a business opportunity."
Becoming a Virginia Relay Partner is free and businesses can sign up for the program at http://relaypartner.org/. Once a business is registered, it can gain access to a broad array of free online training and educational materials that can be downloaded at any time and incorporated into employee orientation or training programs. No special equipment is necessary to participate in the program, only a standard telephone and computer to access the online training materials.
The Virginia Relay Center in Norton has been operated by AT&T since its inception in 1991. It employs more than 100 communications assistants (operators) to handle Relay calls. More than 120,000 free and confidential calls are processed at the center each month.
About Virginia Relay
A program of the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Richmond, Virginia Relay is a free public service that allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind or speech disabled to keep in touch with anyone who uses a standard phone. For more information on Virginia Relay services, please contact Matt Myrick, AT&T Virginia Relay account manager, at 804-662-9789 or visit www.varelay.org.
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