Comprehensive helpline for disabled soon

KOCHI: Kerala is set to get a helpline for the disabled within a month. The toll free helpline, available both in English and Malayalam, will provide an array of information on interventions, symptoms, learning centres, laws and various government schemes for the differently abled. The help line has been launched in twelve Indian states  so far.  The Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)-enabled helpline was developed at the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped (AYJNIHH), Mumbai and launched first in Maharashtra in 2005. When a person calls on the toll-free number, he/she will be connected to a main menu. Then he will be directed to appropriate sections and to sub-sections as per his/her requirement. It will also provide lists of respective contact persons. During working hours the caller can get access to operators with expertise in disability related issues. In Kerala, the helpline will be hosted  by the National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH), Thiruvananthapuram. “We have received the equipment and technical aspects from the AYJNIHH. We are providing the resource persons and the support staff.  Over the past one year we have been working on the project, modifying it to make it more Kerala centric and translating the material into Malayalam. The system is functional now and it will be launched within a month,”  NISH director Samuel Matthew said. Initially it will have three lines. Additional lines will be provided depending on the increase in call traffic. “It is aimed at being a contact point for disability related issues. Any interested person, a person with disability, a relative of the differently-abled person or an NGO can access the helpline. We will constantly monitor the system and make modifications. Owing to the lack of information, identification and intervention the disability cases often get delayed. Also the benefits of services and resources do not reach the disabled in many cases. The helpline is aimed at addressing all these issues,” the director said.