WISPAmerica 2019 Show Daily Day 1

www. WISPA .org 1 5 www.bekabusinessmedia.com DAY 1 Nominet Helps Develop Digital Tools that Save Lives N ominet is helping suicide-prevention orga- nization Samaritans develop a self-help tool for coping with distress and suicidal thoughts and a new system which will allow volun- teers to respond to significant volumes of addi- tional contacts. As one of Samaritans’ digital trans- formation partners, Nominet will provide £175,000 (about $232,332) and its expertise to support the development of two new digital products. Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people and the biggest killer of men under 50. According to the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics, as many as one in five people experience suicidal thoughts. In 2017, 1,588 people between the ages of 10 and 34 years old took their own lives in the U.K. Samaritans found that younger people, autistic people and people with social anxiety can find it more difficult to use Samaritans’ helpline, and may prefer to access self-help materials online. Navi- gating the world of online self-help can be difficult, though, and so it’s crucial that resources are trust- worthy and effective. Clinical experts will feed in to the development of the new self-help tool, which will give people resources to cope with suicidal thoughts and make an ongoing support plan so they can stay safe during a crisis. The second tool that Nominet will be helping to develop is an intelligent dashboard for volun- teers. Samaritans volunteers deal with around 5 million requests for help a year, and by 2021, Samaritans estimates 6,000 more volunteers will be needed to deal with the increasing demand. The intelligent dashboard will help to manage the volunteers’ time so that they can provide better support. This has been funded by Comic Relief’s tech4good fund. “We aim to develop a self-help tool trusted by users, that is accessible and will reach people earlier to reduce the risk of reaching crisis point,” said Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland. “These valuable tools will enable us to help more people in need of support.” “Not everyone is happy calling a helpline in times of crisis,” added Nominet CEO Russell Haworth. “It’s vital that this isn’t a barrier preventing young people getting the help they need. We have the expertise and the resource to be able to help and are committed to working closely with Samaritans to change this, as well as looking at how cutting- edge technology can help Samaritans deploy its resources at a time of increasing demand.” Samaritans is also working with The Devel- oper Society, a not-for-profit co-op digital agency, to create both tools. “We’re really thrilled to be able to help Samari- tans support more people by developing cutting edge digital solutions,” said Stephen Hawkes, managing director of DEV. “Thanks to the fantastic support of Nominet, this project is going to make a huge difference in the lives of a lot of people.” The intelligent dashboard for volunteers will be delivered in May 2019. m Visit Nominet at WISPAMERICA booth #615. Services, Solutions, Simplified. AMCOM SOLUTIONS Your Telecom Go-To Partner NEW SERVICES AND SERVICE UPGRADES  Internet/DIA/Data Transport  Voice/Internet Bundles  Disaster Recovery/Redundancy  DDoS/Firewall  and more! PROJECT MANAGEMENT Coordinate the installation of products and services, from contract generation to turn-up and rst bill review. We are not a reseller so there’s NO COST from AmCom for the above services. www.amcomsolutions.com VISIT US AT BOOTH #624 Contact us for a quote today! (512) 342-2226 x104 or email sales@amcomsolutions.com As a single source Solution Provider AmCom can help with all of your communication needs. We work with all of the major carriers and service providers to ensure a seamless order and turn-up process.