Manatee promises hurricane information for deaf residents won't get lost in translation

When dangerous weather is on the way, many turn to their televisions or radios to hear the latest information come across the airwaves. But what if you're deaf or hard of hearing and rely on sign language to understand what's happening?

In Manatee County, there's now a contract assuring an American Sign Language interpreter will be available for emergency communications.

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference at the Emergency Operations Center, Manatee County officials introduced King Interpreting Services, LLC, which the county will now contract with for emergency sign language interpretation needs.

Last year, during Hurricane Irma, a major misstep in the county's preparations was the lack of a certified interpreter.

Days before Hurricane Irma struck in September 2017, a certified ASL interpreter was not available after the county declared a state of emergency. A Manatee County lifeguard, who speaks to his brother using sign language, was recruited to help. But an ASL interpreter told the Bradenton Herald 95 percent of the interpretation was incomprehensible.

By spring, the county was "well underway" with a request for options process, where businesses make proposals to the county for partnerships, said Nick Azzara, information outreach manager for Manatee County. Three firms submitted proposals to the county, and King Interpreting Services was selected.

"To me, from the beginning, from both their written materials and their in-person presentation it was clear that although it's a new company, King has a unique business model that relies on an an extensive network of contracted American Sign Language interpreters and can be available on very short notice for an extended period," Azzara said.

The contract for addressing the county's emergency communications efforts was finalized in early June, Azzara said. There is a separate agency for on-demand interpretation for county commission meetings or court proceedings upon request.

King Interpreting Services offers several interpreting services as well as American Sign Language classes in the greater Orlando area, according to the company's website. The Orlando-based service filed as a limited liability company with the state four days after Hurricane Irma, according to records. Rates listed in a fee rate schedule for an interpreter range from $68.50 per hour for a standard rate to $99.50 per hour for holidays.

Janet King, CEO of King Interpreting Services, said while the company is young, they have prior experience in the field. The company was developed by addressing concerns of clients, interpreters and the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Azzara said there are about 10 interpreters available through King in the Manatee-Sarasota area, with hundreds available throughout the state.

Isaac Stanley, a sign language interpreter contracting with King, provided interpreting services for Wednesday's news conference.

"They offered, for me, the highest level of comfort that when we have another severe storm approaching they can be called upon again in a variety of ways," Azzara said.

That availability on short notice, variety of ways to contact them and the ability to stay in the area for long periods of time were all reasons King was selected as the "clear standout."

The opportunity to work with Manatee County intrigued those at King Interpreting Services, said Julian Ignatowski, the company's COO, mostly because of the incident last year.

The incident inspired three bills during the 2018 legislative session. Had they passed, the bills would have required counties to have an interpreter certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf during televised emergency weather announcements. However, all the bills were postponed and withdrawn from consideration.

"It's literally a life or death situation," King said of having an interpreter available in emergency situations. "If the deaf and hard of hearing do not have access to access to life-saving information, that's a huge disservice to our residents."

During Wednesday's press conference, Manatee County Emergency Management Chief Sherilyn Burris also encouraged residents to know whether their home is safe enough to shelter in place during a storm or if they should evacuate.

"Don't wait until a storm is heading our way to talk about your plans with your friends and family, to understand what hurricane evacuation levels are, to understand what level your home is in and your evacuation destination is in," Burris said.

If you don't live in one of the evacuation levels, make sure your home is ready and safe for you to shelter in place. It is never safe to stay in a manufactured or mobile home anywhere in the county if there are high winds, Burris said.

To prepare, Burris suggested:

• Have tools, tarps, and other emergency items in your home in case of emergency repairs.
• Have a generator but also be prepared to live without power for several days.
• Have a readiness plan and talk about with family, friends and neighbors.
• If you need to evacuate, have a plan on where to go .
  
  
• Sign up for Code Red weather alert notifications.
• If you have special medical needs, sign up early with the special needs registry.
• Consider storm surge as a factor of whether to stay.
• Install hurricane shutters and other protectors.
• Secure patio furniture.

A new sandbagging machine recently purchased by the county was also demonstrated Wednesday. Each machine fills approximately 700 sand bags per hour at 50 pounds each.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Manatee promises hurricane information for deaf residents won't get lost in translation."