New Hanover County rolls out accessibility initiative for deaf community

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — A New Hanover County program is making local government more accessible to the deaf community.

Their new initiative centers around an app called Language Line. With it, users can call live translators of almost any language, including American Sign Language, and translate for both parties.

Employees at 10 New Hanover County Government locations have already been trained. Featured locations now include all libraries, health and human services, the New Hanover County Government Center, and the Senior Center.

“The local government supports anybody and everybody that lives here and works here,” said Cheryl Knips, a New Hanover County human resources official. “So we need to be able to be accessible and be able to cater to whoever it is that needs services and whatever way they need those services to be communicated to them.”

American Sign Language is only one of several languages including Spanish, French, and dozens of others New Hanover County can now translate.