Innovative New Service Can Be a Lifeline for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals
Have you registered your cell phone for the new Text With 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) service that allows deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and speech impaired individuals to converse with 9-1-1 call centres using text messaging? The service is now available to the majority of Canadians in many areas of the country, including many parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, and province-wide in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan.
The service is really quite simple to use. The first step is to register your compatible cell phone with your wireless service provider. You can do this by visiting www.TextWith911.ca and clicking on the “Registration” button to find your cell phone company.
In the event of an emergency, you can then dial 9-1-1 on your cell phone, just like you were making a voice call. However, even if you can’t speak, the 9-1-1 call taker should automatically receive an indicator that advises them to communicate with you via text messaging. Keep the call open, and you will soon receive the first text message from the call taker.
Here are some quick tips to keep in mind to help the 9-1-1 call taker help you as quickly as possible:
- Before making a 9-1-1 call, make sure your cell phone keypad is unlocked. Some cell phones do not allow receiving and/or sending text messages if the keypad is locked, even though they allow you to dial 9-1-1.
- Text messages should be brief and concise. Text abbreviations and slang should never be used so that your message will be as clear as possible.
- Please be patient, as emergency text communication takes longer to initiate, especially during peak emergency situations. The 9-1-1 call takers will be making their best efforts to quickly send the initial text message.
- T9-1-1 should only be used for emergency situations that require an immediate response from police, fire or emergency medical services.
Some 9-1-1 call centres are still making the necessary upgrades to their systems and will launch the T9-1-1 service in the coming months, but once you have registered the cell phone, you will have access to T9-1-1 in any area of the county where the service is available. Be sure to visit www.TextWith911.ca to learn more about this important safety tool, including an up-to-date listing of all communities where T9-1-1 service is available.
Register now for this new family safety tool
Have you registered your or your children’s cell phones for the new Text with 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) service that allows deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or speech impaired individuals to converse with 9-1-1 call centres using text messaging? The service is now available to the majority of Canadians in many areas of the country, including many parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, and province-wide in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan.
The service is really quite simple to use. The first step is to register your compatible cell phone, or your child’s compatible cell phone, with your wireless service provider. You can do this by visiting www.TextWith911.ca and clicking on the “Registration” button to find your cell phone company.
In the event of an emergency, you or your child can then dial 9-1-1 on the cell phone, just like you were making a voice call. However, even if the caller can’t speak, the 9-1-1 call taker should automatically receive an indicator that advises them to communicate with the caller via text messaging. Keep the call open, and you will soon receive the first text message from the call taker.
If you are a hearing person dailing 9-1-1 from a cell phone that is registered for T9-1-1, simply converse with the 9-1-1 call taker as you would with any voice call to address your emergency.
Here are some quick tips to keep in mind to help the 9-1-1 call taker help you as quickly as possible:
- Before making the 9-1-1 call, make sure your cell phone keypad is unlocked. Some cell phones do not allow receiving and/or sending text messages if the keypad is locked, even though they allow you to dial 9-1-1.
- Text messages should be brief and concise. Ensure your message is as clear as possible by never using text abbreviations or slang.
- Please be patient, as emergency text communication takes longer to initiate, especially during peak emergency situations. The 9-1-1 call taker will be making their best effort to quickly
send the initial text message.
- T9-1-1 should only be used for emergency situations that require a response from police, fire or emergency medical services.
Some 9-1-1 call centres are still making the necessary upgrades to their systems and will launch the T9-1-1 service in the coming months, but once you have registered the cell phone, you will have access to T9-1-1 in any area of the county where the service is available. Be sure to visit www.TextWith911.ca to learn more about this important safety tool, including an up-to-date listing of all communities where T9-1-1 service is available.