Miss-Delectable
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Deaf want subsides for special smoke alarms - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The Tasmanian Deaf Society, or Tasdeaf, is calling on the State Government to subsidise the cost of smoke alarms designed specifically for the hard of hearing.
Anglicare Tasmania has released details of its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the provision of essential aids and equipment for people with disabilities.
Tasdeaf says the submission paints a disturbing picture of the connection between disability, poverty and an inability to purchase essential and life-saving equipment.
Tasdeaf manager, Grant Roberts, says many people who are deaf need a specially designed visual smoke alarm, but these high-tech devices cost $400.
"They just can't afford to pay the expenses of a smoke alarm, either because they're on the pension or they're on a job that has low income which is fairly common for some deaf people in Tasmania they just can't afford additional costs like that," he said.
"They send an infra-red signal to the smoke alarm in the bedroom and they set off a strobe light, and also a vibrating pad which is under the bed or under the pillow and alerts the person in the bed that there is a fire alarm."
The Tasmanian Deaf Society, or Tasdeaf, is calling on the State Government to subsidise the cost of smoke alarms designed specifically for the hard of hearing.
Anglicare Tasmania has released details of its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the provision of essential aids and equipment for people with disabilities.
Tasdeaf says the submission paints a disturbing picture of the connection between disability, poverty and an inability to purchase essential and life-saving equipment.
Tasdeaf manager, Grant Roberts, says many people who are deaf need a specially designed visual smoke alarm, but these high-tech devices cost $400.
"They just can't afford to pay the expenses of a smoke alarm, either because they're on the pension or they're on a job that has low income which is fairly common for some deaf people in Tasmania they just can't afford additional costs like that," he said.
"They send an infra-red signal to the smoke alarm in the bedroom and they set off a strobe light, and also a vibrating pad which is under the bed or under the pillow and alerts the person in the bed that there is a fire alarm."