| 2010 | DC Metropolitan Police installs video interpreting software in police cruisers in pilot program to improve access to deaf residents. Jonesboro, Arkansas and Marion County, Florida allows texting to their 9-1-1 service centers. Independent living center manager questions strobe fire alarms citing research data that 40% of deaf people do not wake up from strobes. Deaf resident in Kingston, Massachusetts misses telephone notification of aerial spraying and slept with windows open. New York City tries again to deactivate street fire alarm boxes, cutting off an emergency resource used by deaf and hard of hearing citizens. DHHCAN and TDI file comments to FEMA and HUD requesting access to communication in multiple formats during recovery phase. Weathertext offers system that disseminates accessible text alerts along with voice alerts in the same channel without any interference. In April, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate gives keynote address at the Inclusive Hurricane Preparedness Conference in Biloxi, Mississippi sponsored by CEPIN and enableUS, an organization dedicated toward improving collaboration between emergency managers and populations with disabilities. In October, CEPIN and enableUS co-hosted the Midwest Partners in Preparedness Conference, and Marcie Roth, FEMA’s director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination was the featured speaker at the Conference. |
| 2009 | Neil McDevitt and Michele Roseman develop CEPIN's second training program at NTPI with ten subject matter experts. TDI participates in developing the National Broadband Plan to ensure that people with disabilities including those who are deaf or hard of hearing have the resources that empower them to call 9-1-1 in emergencies. |
| 2008 | Neil McDevitt appoints Michele Roseman as the new Outreach Coordinator for CEPIN to promote CEPIN's new self-paced web-based training for special needs and emergency management communities at the community, state and national levels. CEPIN also announced its partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the National Terrorism Preparedness Institute at St. Petersburg College (NTPI) to develop its online course. |
| 2007 | TDI receives second $1.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop an online course for emergency management people on how to incorporate special needs population issues into shelter planning. E-911 Stakeholder Council convenes with US Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. to stress accessibility in Next Generation 9-1-1, which will incorporate more avenues for people to obtain emergency assistance. CEPIN continues to do more deliveries of its first course in small towns and rural locations under agreements with the Excess Delivery Acquisition Program and the Eastern Kentucky University. |
| 2006 | The CEPIN Project hosts four pilot courses of the “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” training. They take place in San Francisco, Tulsa, Okla., Boston and Philadelphia. |
| 2006 |
The “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” training receives course approval from the Department of Homeland Security. This opens the door for 15 more trainings being held this fall. |
| 2005 |
Gallaudet University and the Trace Center hosted the Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication: State of the Science Conference in November. |
| 2004 |
TDI participates in the first annual America Prepared Campaign during National Preparedness Month. |
| 2004 |
U.S. Department of Homeland Security awards TDI nearly a $1.5 million competitive training grant to implement the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) and train deaf and hard of hearing consumers and emergency responders about disaster preparedness involving people with hearing losses. |
| 2004 |
NVRC and DHHCAN release 40-page report on disaster preparedness and emergency communications, giving America's communication network systems for deaf and hard of hearing citizens a failing grade for not being accessible. |
| 2004 |
San Antonio, Texas law enforcement sets up VRI in law enforcement stations across the city for deaf victims and witnesses to report crimes in sign language. |
| 2004 |
Sacramento, Calif. law enforcement accepts 9-1-1 calls from deaf citizens using text pagers. |
| 2004 |
FCC clarifies rules that emergency news access regulations do cover acts of terrorism in response to a complaint brought on by a community service agency decrying the lack of accessible news on the D.C. Sniper spree in October 2002. |
| 2003 |
For emergencies, TTY relay calls must be routed to the nearest appropriate PSAP, not necessarily the geographically closest PSAP. |
| 2003 |
One of TDI's The GA-SK issues covers local advocacy; recognizing several advocates Diane Edge (MD), Beth Compton (TX) and Donna Platt (WA) for their emergency preparedness activities. |
| 2003 |
Hospitals nationwide turn to Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) to address accessibility issues by deaf and hard of hearing patients. |
| 2002 |
TDI filed joint comments to the FCC with the NAD opposing the petition of several digital wireless service providers to extend the time or waive their responsibilities to make their network digital-TTY 9-1-1 compatible. |
| 2002 |
FCC receives report from Alliance of Telecommunication Industry Solutions (ATIS) on successful rollout of wireless digital handsets that are compatible with TTYs and allow VCO calls in spite of spotty 9-1-1 equipment compatibility. |
| 2001 |
On Sept. 11, terrorists hijack airlines and attacked the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. and crashed in a Pennsylvania field en-route to Washington, D.C. Following the attacks, TDI rushed an issue of The GA-SK on disaster preparedness. TDI signs on with National Organization of Disabilities' Statements of Principles and Responsibilities in Emergency Preparedness by and for People with Disabilities, which was then presented to Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security. |
| 2001 |
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the U.S. Department of Commerce develops weather radios with strobe lights and vibrating alarms to alert deaf and blind citizens of approaching severe weather. |
| 2001 |
Two localities in South Carolina initiate "reverse" 9-1-1 services to alert deaf and hard of hearing citizens of impending severe weather via TTY. |
| 2001 |
FCC reminds television broadcasters of their emergency news accessibility requirements. |
| 2000 |
VITAC introduces REACT, an emergency news captioning service, to help newscasters comply with new FCC regulations on access to television during emergencies. |
| 2000 |
The Weather Channel begins 20 hours of captioning on its all-weather cable network. |
| 2000 |
The FCC mandates increased accessibility of video programming to viewers with hearing and vision disabilities during local emergencies. |
| 1998 |
National Association of the Deaf (NAD) forms NAD 9-1-1 / Emergency Warning Systems Committee to address concerns about accessible emergency warning systems for severe weather conditions or natural disasters. |
| 1998 |
Several small towns in the Midwest distribute pagers to deaf citizens for tornados and severe weather warnings. |
| 1997 |
TDI participates in two forums to study analog TTY access through digital wireless cellular networks to 9-1-1 systems. |
| 1994 |
Under a grant from the Department of Justice, TDI develops TTY training kits, Emergency Access Self Evaluation (EASE), for training public safety personnel at Public Safety Answering Points. |
| 1991 |
TDI works with Toni Dunne, ADA Chair of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), to educate on accessibility issues to 9-1-1 professionals. |
| 1990 |
The first President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which forbids discrimination based on disability in government services, including 9-1-1 emergency services. |
| 1989 |
TDI discusses 9-1-1 access issues during its eighth convention under Deaf Way, an international conference hosted by Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. |
| 1972 |
Two lives were saved because someone used a TTY to get aid. |
| 1972 |
St. Louis transmits news stories from UPI wire feeds while Indianapolis starts its weather service. |
| 1971 |
TTYs are installed in the Dallas and Los Angeles law enforcement departments to receive emergency calls from deaf citizens. |
| 1970 |
TTY news service begins in Washington, D.C. while Houston inaugurates it in its weather service. |
| 1968 |
Weather News Service for deaf begins in St. Louis. |
| 1945 |
As a young man anxious to help in the war effort, Martin Sternberg joins the American Red Cross in New York City. He was given a part-time job to send and receive messages to soldiers on Teletype (TTY) machines in the Military Welfare Unit. He didn’t realize that those machines would become a standard household item for thousands of deaf people a quarter of a century later. |
