Videophone added to 988 hotline services to better serve the deaf community

A new resource is now available to members of the deaf community who may be experiencing a crisis. 

Videophones that allow people to use American Sign Language are being added to the 988 suicide hotline. 

Tia Dole is a suicide and crisis lifeline officer based in New York. 

She appeared at a ceremony Friday in central Missouri’s Columbia unveiling the new videophone service:

Tia Dole told Newstalk KZRG:  “People need to be served in their own language. People shouldn’t have to chat and text, that is English. ASL is not English. It is our own language, and people need to be able to receive culturally appropriate care in the language of their choice when they are in crisis.”

Dole says 15 percent of Americans struggle with their hearing, and wants the deaf community to know that 9-8-8 is there to help if needed.