Lost in translation; no interpreter at City Council
A group of the deaf community in Colorado Springs says they’re frustrated after there wasn’t an interpreter at a City Council meeting.
About a dozen deaf people showed up to City Hall last week to voice support for Cannabis Clubs.
But, they say they couldn’t communicate because there wasn’t an interpreter available.
“I feel like the City Hall discriminates against me. They don’t want to hear my voice,” said George Baca, who went to the City Council meeting.
Baca may be deaf, but he says that doesn’t mean his voice shouldn’t be heard.
“I went to the meeting, I requested an interpreter,” Baca said.
But the city says that request, was 48-hours too late.
“They’re not going to admit that they got a phone call. I called them 72 hours in advance and told them we would need a translator. They were given proper notice but they didn’t care,” said Daniel Goodman, owner of The Dab Lounge, a Cannabis Club in Colorado Springs.
“They should provide an interpreter, closed captioning on TV’s,” said Baca.
The city says it doesn’t have closed captioning at this time. Council has discussed it, but the service comes with a big price tag.
“We had our own translator there that was deemed not good enough. It was horrible what they did to these people,” said Goodman.
Bringing your own interpreter to translate for the public, isn’t an option. The city must use an interpreter who is already certified with the city.
“He thinks it’s not equal and discriminating his rights,” said Baca.
The city of Colorado Springs said in a statement, “The City of Colorado Springs recognizes the need to be able to engage our residents and make our programs, services and activities accessible for people with disabilities. In order accomplish this we are committed to providing appropriate aids and services for effective communication including, but not limited to obtaining a qualified sign language interpreter. The City routinely promotes the availability of sign language interpreters and other accessibility services and will make every effort available to provide these services if request are made at least 48 hours in advance.”
The best way to request an accommodation is to contact the city entity running or hosting the program, service, or activity. This can be done in person, by e-mail, or phone. Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing may also contact the City via Relay Colorado: 1-800-659-3656 (voice) or 1-800-659-2656 (TTY) or simply dial 711 to reach a Telecommunications Relay Services. Our Notice under the Americans with Disabilities Act contains more information and can be found our city web site.
Colorado Springs says it’s open to ideas and suggestions to improve communication. If you do want to request a translator, you need to contact the city. People who are deaf, or hard of hearing can simply dial 711 to reach the relay services.
