I was interested to see this announcement today:
This story comes from ESRI, a developer of geographic information systems (GIS), and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH). The hotline receives calls from domestic violence victims and families and attempts to connect them to community resources such as shelters.
The center wants to update its call center system so as to be able to respond more quickly and better determine a caller's location. Today's release describes the upgraded system being planned:
Lindsay Hernstrom, ESRI technical marketing analyst and member of the technical team for the NDVH call center application, explained that they are designing an integrated on-screen system that automatically identifies the general geographic area of the incoming phone number, allows search and selection of appropriate services from the database of providers and shelters, and can map the street locations of the selections. The system will maintain caller anonymity.
"The call is not geocoded to the street but to a general geographic level because it is designed to pick up only the area code and three-number prefix," says Hernstrom, adding, "The advocate on the phone needs to be able to drive the application and say, for example, find me a shelter within five miles of the caller that accepts children and has Spanish speakers.
"Since they are often providing a life-saving service, it is important for them to quickly find the most accessible help for the caller."
The agency is seeking donations to help fund the project. For details, see contact information in today's news release.
AB -- 6/3/05
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Does the Tech Community know what it is supporting?
The National Domestic Violence hotline is asking for millions of dollars in both donations from a number of tech companies and federal funding through HR 696. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-696
They are asking for a complex and highly technical system in order to, as their press release claims, “to serve more people.” Note that nowhere in the release is there any mention of the fact that the NDVH only serves women, preferably those without male children over the age of 12.
In other words, they are not looking to serve more people, but to spend more money continuing to serve only those they deem “deserving.” Services are still restricted, and male victims cannot get help from this agency. These same victims are paying this agency’s bills through their tax dollars, and in many cases, the very company they work for may be supporting and propagating their male employee’s inability to access help.
If you work for or use products made by these companies, http://www.esri.com/partners/alliances/index.html
please let them know that the dollars given to NDVH go to a feminist propaganda machine that actively obstructs objective research, and does little more than enable divorce, and gender division in the community.