Ever since U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-3rd-CA) learned about the AbilityOne Program facilities at Travis Air Force Base, the congressman has taken a keen interest in how people who are blind are supporting the airmen and women at the base. On Thursday, August 12, Congressman Lungren toured the facilities – a new Call Center and a Base Supply Center (BSC), both of which are staffed by people who are blind.“The new Call Center at Travis Air Force Base was extremely impressive,” Lungren said. “The ease of the adaptive technology was surprising, though it certainly requires tremendous skill on behalf of the people using it. This would be a great pilot program to show many other business and organizations across the country that people who are blind can do the job.”
Earlier this year, Travis was chosen by the Air Force to be the site of a consolidated Call Center that will serve 12 air bases by the end of the year. To plan for the mission, Travis worked closely with the NIB and NewView Oklahoma to consider staffing the center with employees who are blind.
Since early spring, NIB and other agencies have been recruiting employees who are blind for the Call Center. These employees are able to take the calls and route them to the proper destination using JAWS (Job Access With Speech) software.
Since 1998, South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind has supported Travis AFB with the AbilityOne: 1 Store Solutions BSC. Approximately 40 percent of the items stocked at the BSC are SKILCRAFT® or other products produced through the AbilityOne Program. This partnership is very valuable to base command and has been widely praised.
To learn more, read the news article and the attached press release. For more questions, contact Kelly Jamieson at 703-310-0324 or kjamieson@nib.org.
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