Curious About What I Have Been Up To?
Not that the absense of regular posts from this blog is a new thing, but I thought you might be interested in seeing what I have been up to most recently that is keeping me from whydoibother.com.
I’ve been working on a new website that I’m kind of excited about. Below is a copy of a press release that explains it pretty well. After reading that you may want to check it out yourself at www.terpchat.com.
SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS SEEK GREATER SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Local Interpreters Say they are Hungry for a Place to Network and Communicate
Sign Language interpreters in the Portland, Oregon area say they are missing a sense of connection and belonging to other interpreters in the area and in other areas. Interpreters thrive on communication and networking, yet even within their own communities they are fragmented by real and imaginary boundaries. Work sites, professional specializations, loyalty to different referral agencies, differences in education and certification levels, and isolation are some of the key causes of this fragmentation. Interpreting students and new interpreters often find it very difficult to break into established professional groups. This leaves them feeling isolated, unappreciated, and often bitter.
The growth of the VRS (Video Relay Service) industry has been both a boon and a bane within the interpreter world. VRS agencies, such as Sprint, HOVRS, Sorenson, and others give the sign language interpreter the chance to work in a more traditional work environment with a more traditional schedule. The VI (Video Interpreter) can now develop close peer relationships with other interpreters at their agency just as any other professional has always been able to. At the same time, the VI gives up much or all of his/her connection to the deaf community and other freelance interpreters. VRS agencies highly discourage contact between employees of different agencies as well. This has created very real, even legally binding boundaries that further separate today’s interpreters from their community.
Website designer and administrator Jeff DeLeon-Benham has seen the effects of this phenomenon in his own family. Jeff’s wife is a sign language interpreter who currently divides her time between the VRS agency she works for and her full time job as a court interpreter.
Jeff was so concerned by this fragmentation and lack of belonging that he has devoted the past several weeks to developing the framework for what promises to be a step toward bringing interpreters, students, and others connected with the world of sign language interpreting back together again. His new website TerpChat.com will offer interpreters the chance to communicate through forums on virtually every topic and area of expertise. Featured columnists from many different disciplines will be contributing content that will keep the interpreter coming back for more. An events calendar showing local and national events is also on the way. TerpChat.com will continue to evolve in order to best meet the needs of its membership.
Participation in the website is completely free. Interpreters are encouraged to participate as much as they are able in order to create an active and dynamic community. TerpChat.com is currently recruiting regular contributors who are experts in their field or who have a unique perspective that their peers would benefit from.
Technorati Tags: press release, Sign Language, interpreters, interpreter, VRS, Video Relay Service, VI, Video Interpreter, community, TerpChat.com
