Global Interpreting Services Launches Program to Bridge Communication Gaps eLearning course designed to teach law enforcement to effectively communicate 

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.: Global Interpreting Services announces the launch of Have You Heard?, an eLearning course designed to train public safety personnel and civilian staff to effectively communicate with Deaf, hard of hearing and low-English communities. 

Global Interpreting kicks off the release of the program at a press conference scheduled for August 15 at 1 p.m. State of Michigan Senator Michael D. MacDonald, as well as other highly respected community thought leaders will be present to share in the support of effective communication training. 

“It is important for our law enforcement to provide effective communication to its citizens, and not all citizens are the same,” said Dawn Flanigan, CEO of Global Interpreting Services. “We designed the course knowing the dire need for organizations to be properly trained on how to effectively communicate when the individual has a hearing loss or when English is not their primary language.” 

Public safety personnel need to communicate with these citizens, as more than 25 million people in the United States are considered low-English speaking and 30 million people have hearing loss. This course helps improve language access in these departments and builds trust within the communities they serve. 

Officers and staff will be trained to:  

• Recognize the characteristics of an individual who is Deaf, hard of hearing or has limited English skills 
• Establish communication with those populations 
• Comply with federal, state, and local guidelines for providing services to those populations including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act 

Global Interpreting Services, established in 1996, has three decades of experience training public safety personnel. They are experts in language services, assisting clients nationwide. Their full services include American Sign Language (ASL) and Foreign Language interpreting, video interpreting, phone interpreting and document translation.   

For information on the program or the event, contact Mark Sabor, Sales & Marketing Manager at 586-778-4188 or by email at msabor@myterps.com.