Description:
The Wisconsin Relay Service is a free service for all Wisconsinites, connecting individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing, or have a speech disability with users of standard telephones. Whether calling on a standard telephone or a text telephone (TTY, a special phone with a typewriter-style keyboard), relay makes communication simple, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Using the Wisconsin Relay is easy. Either the hearing or the deaf person dials 711 to reach a specially trained operator known as a communications assistant (CA). The CA acts as an impartial, two-way "relay" in the conversation, reading messages typed on the TTY to the hearing person while typing responses on the TTY back to the deaf caller.
Relay users no longer need to memorize toll-free numbers to make a relay call. Simply dial 7-1-1 to connect with the state relay provider. Confidentiality for relay users and CA's is assured by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling.