Posted 24.10.14
Deaf tenants can now communicate directly with their landlord thanks to a new service introduced by Wheatley Group.
SignVideo - a British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation service - is available to customers of GHA, Cube, Loretto and West Lothian Housing Partnership, which are all members of Wheatley Group.
It means deaf tenants can contact their landlord directly without having to get a friend or family member to do it for them.
If a deaf customer needs to report a repair, for example, he or she clicks the SignVideo link on the relevant website which takes them to a live interpreter.
The customer has a conversation with the interpreter, who informs Wheatley's Customer Service Centre (CSC) advisor about the enquiry.
The advisor then relays the information - for example, the time of the repair - back to the customer using sign language.
Wheatley is the first housing organisation to provide the service.
It's just one initiative from the deaf forum Wheatley set up last year in partnership with the British Deaf Association.
