Copy and paste this letter below or your own usage. We have some contact information listed below this letter. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email VTAD directly by emailing us (admin@deafvermont.com) or calling us via VP (802-858-2323).

[Date]
The Vermont Deaf community watched your announcement on [Date] about
the coronavirus (COVID-19) but were unable to understand it because you failed to do
some or not all of the following: not having American Sign Language (ASL) access
100%, not providing good quality or available captioning and not allowing the interpreter
to be visible for the entire duration of the press conference. Please review best
practices for effective communication at emergency press briefings. Information
shared about this serious disease outbreak must be made accessible at the time of the
release, not afterwards. Failing to make this information available in ASL means that
deaf people are not getting the same important information about health and safety.

We are including a petition with over 375 signatures of angry/concerned Vermonters and
their supporters as well as a file containing video sequences of the concerns we saw
LIVE during the conference. We demand that you provide ASL and captioning to ALL
news and announcements involving COVID-19 messaging. This is not only the right thing
to do but is also required by federal law, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act
and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Like everyone else, we are concerned about this outbreak but often are the last to know
or have no access. Please include qualified ASL interpreters and captioning in any video
updates about COVID-19.
Thank you,

CSPAN: jira@cspanorg.atlassian.net  or     (202) 737-322 (main office)  or for captioning issues: captioning@c-spanarchives.org    or   (p) 765-464-3019

WCAX: news@wcax.com    or    802-652-6300

FCC: dro@fcc.gov    or   (844) 432-2275   (ASL direct support line)

FOX 22/44: news@mychamplainvalley.com    or     802-660-9333

Transcript –

Hi my name is Elena Shapiro treasurer for VTAD. I want to update everyone on what the VTAD board has been doing. We have done a lot. We met every day and discussed different topics and various approaches on what we should do. We wanted to update everyone on what we have done and what we need your help with.

First we wrote a formal letter. That letter was recommended by NAD. We modified it to fit us better. That letter states that an ASL interpreter is required and that the interpreter remains on the TV screen the entire time. The video should not be zooming in and out and taking the interpreter out of the video. We also stated that we require captioning and that the caption must be the right size, not large and covering half the screen. That was our demand in that letter.

That letter – Laura our secretary did upload on the VTAD Facebook page and on our website. You can see the letter for yourself. www.deafvermont.com. That letter has a petition with over 375 signatures. We want to thank everyone for their support in signing the petition. The second item included is the video sequence document. This document was created from different pictures I took during the press conference yesterday. It includes a timeline and covers both WCAX and C-span. WCAX kept zooming the interpreter out of the video. They didn’t show the interpreter fully, and we kept missing the information on the screen. WCAX captioning was in the middle of the screen and it was hard to see the interpreter with the large captioning fonts. It was a frustrating experience. C-span had the interpreter some of the time, zooming in and out but had NO captioning at all.

FOX44 news were awesome. They had the interpreter and captioning on the screen the entire time. VTAD will write a letter thanking them for their support. That letter is available and you can read it for yourself. That letter includes a petition link. That link is not active. We want to preserve privacy for everyone who signed the petition and now broadcast their names and emails. The second link is to the video sequence document. You can see for yourself the pictures that were taken and the comments included.

WCAX showed the video then switched to other news, while C-span ran the video live for the entire conference without switching or leaving to other news. There were some pros and cons with both TV stations.

We sent that letter to the Commissioner Monica Hutt, Governor, WCAX TV, C-Span and the FCC.
WCAX did reach out to us but we have a hard time getting a hold of them. Their voice mail box was full. We have been struggling to get ahold of them, but we did send an email with all the attachments. The letter to the FCC was responded by them quickly asking for more information like the websites that we were watching and what time. So we sent them all the info. The FCC encouraged all the deaf people to send them an email too. The more people that file the complaint, higher the chance that FCC will have a strong case to address those TV stations and Governor’s lack of interpreter availability. This is a requirement for ADA by FCC to ensure that the interpreter is there and captioning is available. We need your help with that.

Now we will post a template “example” of the letter you can use to copy and paste and send emails to those TV stations, Governor’s office and the FCC. We will provide the emails for everyone. If you do not want to email, but prefer to call instead, we will provide a list of phone numbers for them as well.

The VTAD board has email – admin@deafvermont.com and a phone number for us. We will post this on the website. If you have concerns, questions, or want to help, feel free to email or call us. We appreciate your help. What we need from you is to send those emails. The more emails you send to the Governor or FCC, or the TV Stations, the higher the chance they will respond. They will be required to respond because many of you filed a complaint. We need your help with that. Lastly, be SAFE. We will all be fine. Thank you.

This letter was sent to various media outlets/important officials to voice our frustrations/concerns about our recent experience with March 25th press conference held by Governor Phil Scott.

We shared the petition with over 375 signatures – Thank you everyone for your support on this.

We also shared the Video sequence that shows WCAX channel 3 had bad captioning, and didnt show the interpreter on screen, as well as C-Span with no captioning.
View the Video sequence HERE

Guidance on Facemasks

• Vermonters wear cloth facial masks, or coverings, if they need to leave their homes for essential purposes. This advice is based on new data about how COVID-19 can spread before a person has any symptoms.
• Because people may have COVID-19 but no symptoms, wearing a face mask may help keep people from spreading the virus. Face coverings are not a substitute for physical distancing and other prevention measures.
• It is important that medical-grade masks be reserved for our health care workers and first responders.

Continued Social Distancing and Hand Washing are Essential

Dr. Mark Levine stressed that the most effective way to slow the virus’s spread is to continue to follow the Governor’s Stay Home, Stay Safe Order, respect social distancing, and be vigilant in regularly washing hands and not touching your face. The sacrifices Vermonters are making is beginning to show promising results in slowing the spread, but we must keep up the good work for quite a bit longer to keep us all healthy and safe in the future.

How to Enjoy the Outdoors Safely
The Agency of Natural Resources provided new guidance Friday, April 3, for how Vermonters can get outside and enjoy the fresh air safely:

• Stay close to home. Find areas close you can walk or bike to. If you must drive, please limit the distance from home to 10 miles, and only drive with members of your household. DO NOT INVITE PEOPLE INTO YOUR HOME THAT DOESN’T LIVE THERE.
• Practice social distancing while outside. You lower your risk when you stay at least 6 ft. apart from others. This includes having your dog on a leash and close to you.
• Be cautious and choosing low-risk activities to avoid injury. This will help lower the burden on our hospitals and health care system.
• Respect signs for closed areas, trails and land. Check www.Trailfinder.info to see if your trail is currently open before you visit.

Everyone must have a referral from their provider in order to be tested.