Telephone Equipment Distribution Program
By Sharie Hawkins

Do you, or someone you know, have trouble
• hearing the phone ring
• hearing while talking on the phone
• holding onto a handset
• dialing
• having your voice heard on the phone
If so, Minnesota’s telephone equipment distribution (TED) program can help. The TED program offers telephone equipment at no cost to those who qualify.

To qualify, a person must:
• live in Minnesota
• have a hearing loss, speech or physical disability
• have phone service
• have an annual income of $40,991 or less for one person; $53,604 or less for two people). Visit www.tedprogram.org for more than two-person households or call 1-800-657-3663, 1-888-206-6555 (TTY users).

If you qualify, TED program staff will decide what equipment you need such as:
• telephones that make voices sound louder and clearer
• devices that make the phone ring louder or have a lamp flash when the phone rings
• captioned telephones so users can read what callers say
• hands-free speaker phones for people who have trouble holding a handset or dialing
• TTY for deaf or speech-impaired callers
• equipment for people who are deaf blind or have other special needs

Having a telephone helps people feel more secure, depend on family members less and to socialize more freely.

To learn more about TED, visit the Web site at www.tedprogram.org .E-mail ted.program@state.mn.us, call 1-800-657-3663, 1-888-206-6555 for TTY callers, or write to the TED Program, 444 Lafayette Rd. N., St. Paul, MN 55155-3814. Staff also offers presentations at no charge.

In addition to the TED program, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division offers other services for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf & blind and their families. To find out more about these services, call 651-297-1316 (voice) or 1-888-206-6513 (TTY) or visit www.dhhsd.org.

The TED Program is administered by the Dept. of Commerce, Telecommunications Access Minnesota (TAM) and funded by a telephone surcharge .