SIRIS aids the visually isolated

The Southern Illinoisan, IL, USA
Monday, October 29, 2007

SIRIS aids the visually isolated

By SCOTT FITZGERALD

CARBONDALE - They look like small portable radios someone might use on a 
recreational outing. But they aren't.

They are referred to as receivers, and Southern Illinois Radio Information 
Services (SIRIS) has placed more than 1,000 of them free-of-charge in homes and 
institutions throughout the area for people who are blind, visually impaired or 
print disabled.
 
"These receivers are automatically pre-tuned to pick up our signal as a side 
channel through a preset crystal. We are a service of WSIU (91.9 FM) public 
radio," said SIRIS director Vickie Devenport.

Begun in 1984 by Southern Illinois University graduate students doing work in 
rehabilitation, SIRIS is a free reading and information service. Volunteers 
read regional and national newspapers, magazines, book reviews, art news and 
other materials over the air at designated times.

The broadcast range is roughly a 45-mile radius around Carbondale. SIRIS is 
available also in Mount Vernon on WVSI-88.9 FM and broadcasts within a 20-mile 
radius.

"When older people become blind later in life because of macular degeneration 
or diabetes, for example, they become very isolated. They are not able to read 
Braille. This delivery method of information assists them to keep in touch with 
the world around them," Devenport said.

SIRIS subscribes to the In-Touch Network Service from New York, which provides 
material from major publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek magazine 
and specialized materials such Ladies Home Journal and Parents Magazine.

From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday, volunteers read from local publications 
such as The Southern Illinoisan, The Marion Daily Republican and The Daily 
Egyptian.

SIRIS broadcasts daily around the clock, and its listenership continues to 
grow. Devenport said five new receiver placements at institutional settings 
such as senior citizen centers and retirement homes have been added.

Former SIRIS board member and current volunteer Clara Bowie said many of the 
service listeners have commented favorably to her about what they get.

"People tell me it makes them feel like they're still part of the world," Bowie 
said.

scott.fitzgerald@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
351-5076


http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2007/10/28/local/21934068.txt
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