Frequently asked questions - from the deaf community
“We are committed to providing as much information as possible to the community. Please let us know what else you would like to hear from us. Our dispatchers and staff are here for you 24 hours a day. Please email me to schedule a time to chat with me over the relay; we would love to answer all your questions.”
-Jennie, Staff Interpreter and CODA
Can I order interpreting services directly?
Can I request a specific interpreter?
How can I give feedback about an interpreter?
How else can I be involved with the agency?
How else do you support the Deaf community?
Can I order interpreting services directly?
As an agency, our door is open to anyone in need of interpreting services. We encourage you to know your rights and know when an interpreter should be provided FOR YOU, instead of provided BY YOU. If you are booking an interpreter for a medical, legal, employment, or other purposes, please contact the service provider ahead of time and ask them to provide you an interpreter. Many times one will be provided at no cost to you if you simply ask. However, if you are in a position where you need an interpreter for a private event and funding is not covered by the federal or state government, we will gladly provide services for you. Please contact our dispatch department for more details. dispatch@signlanguagepeople.com or relay 707-570-0662
Can I request a specific interpreter?
Absolutely. If you have an appointment coming up through our agency, please feel free to contact us and let us know who you would like us to try first.
When we know that as a Deaf consumer, you have a preference of interpreters, we will do everything we can to ensure that we contact your preferred interpreters first. We keep confidential records of who you work well with so that in the future, our first call can be made to an interpreter we know works well and is a good match. We will never under any circumstances inform an interpreter if they are on your list of people you prefer or wish for us not to contact, it is for our own internal use.
How can I give feedback about an interpreter?
We can accept feedback any way you contact us and we value your feedback, please do contact us. Weather the feedback is positive or negative, we want to know!
You can email us, contact us via relay, fax us, or even mail us a letter. What we need to know is the interpreters name if you know it, the date of the appointment, the location, and then your detailed feedback. Please let us know about the interpreter’s professionalism, signing abilities, attitude, and anything else you think we should know. We will keep any negative feedback confidential if you do not want us to relay it to the interpreter.
How else can I be involved with the agency?
We are always looking for individuals to help us in implementing new projects. We value the feedback and involvement of the Deaf community in all of our endeavors. We are looking for Mentors for our interpreters and students who can give them feedback on their signing and interpreting skills.
We are also interested in having Deaf community members sign up for our quarterly advisory counsel letters. We email our members and ask for feedback, advice, and community support, on our new policies and community projects. Stay up to date, and stay in contact with us!
Join our online advisory council.
How else do you support the Deaf community?
One of the great ways that we are trying to help the community is by offering advertising space to Deaf owned and operated businesses. If you would like us to advertise your business or charity, please let us know! If you know of a worthy cause that we should promote on our website let us know! We are also looking for Deaf owned and operated business that could use some recognition on our site. We are creating a page for our customers to find and support non-interpreting related business that benefit the community. We will post the business name, contact info, and a brief description so that visitors to our site can support Deaf owned and operated business as well. Email us today for more information.