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a -------------------- 10 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, September 29, 1987 | | Fs J BRS opens new doors for deaf people Bell Telephone has introduced in- novative technology which offers deaf people in this area a whole new freedom in communication. Called the Bell Relay Service, or BRS, this service finally allows peo- ple who are deaf, or hard of hearing, to use a telephone without help from anybody else. For the first time, they can call and speak to friends, order a pizza, make a doctor's ap- pointment, and qualify for job op- portunities that were once closed to them. The service was explained to a group of media at the Oshawa Deaf Centre on September 24. "What it means is independence for the first time," commented spokesperson Andrea Densham, Technical Aid Director of the cen- tre. 'BRS puts the hearing world and the deaf world in touch with each other." Anyone with a TDD (a small computer-like terminal that prints out messages on a screen), in On- tario and Quebec can use BRS to call anywhere in the world. While the service is free, subscribers still pay their phone bills like anyone else--including long distance. The BRS operator acts as a com- munication link over the telephone between a deaf person and a hear-- ing person. When the hearing person speaks, the operator types a message so it appears on the deaf person's TDD. When the deaf person responds, the operator voices the message to the hearing person. The operator, specially trained in English and French, is sworn to "secrecy. It is against the law for a Bell operator to give out information about telephone conversations, and no record of conversations is kept. BRS was introduced to Ontario and Quebec in June, and from the outset, handled on average 600 calls with 20 full-time operators. Now, 51 operators handle the Patrick G. Deegan DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC NEW LOCATION: 174 Water St. -- Port Perry BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! Phone: 985-2916 or 623-4473 couch JOHN DEERE calls, which range upwards of 1,000 each day. Bell predicts 85 full-time operators will have been hired by January 1, 1988. Andrea Densham and Ray Richer, both from the Oshawa Deaf Centre, show off a piece of hardware that will open exciting new doors to deaf people in this area. See story for details. NNR Nn . X W AR LL RIAN LSRRRRARRL BAHA'IS of SCUGOG The service is expected to grow even more as hearing impaired peo- ple realize how much BRS can ex- pand their worlds. Ray Richer, job placement ofan Ny P.O. Box 1153, Port Perry, Ont. LOB 1NO PHONE 985-9339 or 986-4689 workshop supervisor for the Oshawa Deaf Centre, is hearing im- paired himself, and can't emphasize enough how important the service is. "They (deaf people) fee] they don't have a value in life," he said "Now they have something they cap, hold onto for themselves He said he has seen people actu). ly break into tears when being in- troduced to BRS. -To make a call, deaf people dia} 1-800-267-6511 (hearing people call 1-800-267-6600). Give the operator your name, area code and telephone number (the operator needs to know if the call is long distance). Then give the name of the person you are calling, their area code and telephone number. The operator will then place the call. When the person you are call ing answers, the operator will tel] you to go ahead. PART 1 1 OF 26 To the Peoples of the World A BAHA'I STATEMENT ON Peace THE TENTATIVE STEPS towards world order, especially since World War ll, give hopeful signs. The in- creasing tendency of groups of na- tions to formalize relationships which enable them to co-operate in matters of mutual interest suggest that eventually all nations could overcome this paralysis. The Association of South East Asian Na- tions, the Caribbean Community and Common Market, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the European Communities, the League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity, the Organization of American States, the South Pacific Forum - all the joint endeavours represented by such organizations prepare the path to world order. The increasing attention being focused on some of the most deep- rooted problems af the planet is yet another hopeful sign. Despite the obvious short-comings of the United Nations, the more than two score declarations and conventions adopted by that organization, even where governments have not been enthusiastic in their commitment, have given ordinary people a sense of a new lease on life. The Univer- sal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the similar measures concerned with eliminating all forms of discrimina- tion based on race, sex or religious belief; upholding the rights of the child; protecting all persons against being subjected to torture; eradicating hunger and malnutri- tion; using scientific and technological progress in the in- terest of peace and the benefit of mankind - all such measures, If courageously enforced and ex panded, will advance the day when the spectre of war will have lost its power to dominate international relations. There is no need to stress the significance of the issues ad: dressed by these declarations and conventions. However, a few such issues, because of their immediate relevance to establishing world peace, deserve additional comment. For a free copy of the complete statement "TO THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD" or information about the Baha'i Faith and local activities, please write or call BAHA'IS of SCUGOG P.O. Box 1153, PORT PERRY, ONTARIO LOB 1NO Phone 985-9339 or 986-4689