Irish Approved Housing Bodies, Clúid, Circle and Respond have implemented Recite Me assistive tools online to help overcome a recurring barrier for their tenants – language.
As part of their partnership project called “Quality in Our Diversity,” each AHB set up a coordinating group to invite tenants from minority ethnic backgrounds to discuss their needs and find solutions to improve their experience as tenants and address the identified needs. In their first meeting, one of the main discussion points was the language barriers many tenants face when reading tenancy agreements, handbooks, or online information.
Robert O’Keeffe, Housing Manager at Clúid Housing, told us, “A common trend, one that we simply overlooked was accessibility in a language that could be understood by the person. Our residents talked a lot about relying on younger members of their families to translate information, whether this was across our website or in our documentation.”
As a direct response to the concerns raised by residents, Clúid, Circle and Respond began to investigate ways in which they could provide a customisable digital experience for their residents.
This is where they came across Recite Me, a solution to not only the language barriers but also offering screen reading functionality, multiple reading aids, and styling options for those with disabilities, visual impairments or additional needs.
Robert continued, “We have only done a soft launch of the toolbar, but the number of people using it so far is very encouraging and I think it is something that is going to add a lot of value.”
Since launching the toolbar at the tail end of 2023, Clúid and Circle have seen a total of 2,337 unique users, using the toolbar to read and understand 8,323 pages of content. The translation tool alone has been clicked 13,820 times to translate into languages such as Afrikaans, Latvian and Polish.
Respond Housing, a third branch of the housing associations is due to take on Recite Me in the near future. Gordon Power, Tenancy Relations Co-ordinator (QIOD Steering Committee member), at Respond told us, “Recite Me is very simple at the touch of a button, which is one of the main things that make it very appealing for us to use.”
With over 5,000 websites now using Recite Me, we are thrilled to be working to help break down digital barriers online for all.
To learn more, make sure to download our accessible housing guide or get started with Recite Me by contacting a member of our team today.
Kickstart your accessibility journey with Recite Me
Act today to ensure your website is accessible and compliant with the latest WCAG standards. Get started on your website accessibility strategy by working through the following action points:
- Contact our team for more advice about WCAG standards and Accessibility best practices.
- Find out more about the Recite Me Web Accessibility Checker.
- Schedule a free demonstration to learn how our technology can help you.
- Run a free scan of your website for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.
- Try our assistive toolbar on your website.
