MOBILE, Alabama — A new opportunity for the area’s visually impaired residents is on the horizon. The Mobile Association for the Blind (MAB) is establishing a Contact Center that will provide employment for up to 20 individuals, with the jobs being phased in over the next several months.

The agency serves Baldwin, Mobile, Washington and Clarke counties, and both potential employees and clients are being sought. Tim Creamer, Contact Center supervisor, said the center will serve businesses by offering telephone outsourcing — including answering services, customer service, order-taking, appointment-setting and polling/surveys. He pointed out it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

“You would be assisting the visually impaired locally, assisting them with giving back to the community — getting their income here, spending their money here,” Creamer said. “They would be trained locally, and there would be ease of contact through local numbers.”

He said although the cost would be higher than outsourcing to a traditional call center, perhaps one located in India or Pakistan, the benefit to the business, the community and the local economy would outweigh the additional expense.

“It would help the local visually impaired get jobs and be more productive parts of society,” Creamer said. “A lot of people (callers) have problems with some of the language barriers, and they prefer to have their money being spent locally.”

The Contact Center will be headquartered inside MAB’s 43,000-square-foot facility located on Gordon Smith Drive in Mobile, and nine positions will be filled immediately. But telecommuting is also possible.

“As long as there is a strong Internet basis after they’re trained, it can be utilized. If they have it in a secure area where information cannot be seen easily by others — with no background interference noise like people talking, dogs barking and things like that — there will be an opportunity for them to work at home,” Creamer said.

Although taking calls from home can be an ideal situation for some with a visual impairment, he noted others would benefit from the support system at MAB.

“If they’re working in the facility here, there’s interaction with other individuals. They can interact with people who have the same vision issues, or if something comes up, there’s someone they can talk to regarding problems they may be having.”

Training will soon begin, and can be completed within one or two weeks, depending upon any prior experience with the equipment that will be used, and whether additional specific training will be needed in order to serve a particular business client.

Recently acquired by MAB for the new venture are JAWS, Topaz, SARA CE, Magic keyboards, enlarged monitors, Pearl and a Braille reader.

The equipment and needed furnishings were received through the support of OEC-Office Equipment Co., Habitat for Humanity Restore, Konica Minolta, Freedom Scientific and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services.

Creamer said, “There are different things available for them to work, and for them to learn with, and be able to say, ‘I can work. I can do things now. I have the right equipment.’”

Applicants for the Contact Center positions must be 18 years of age or older, and experience visual impairment. It is hoped many of those hired for the new program will one day find employment outside the organization.

“Eventually, the individuals who work for a business might hire into that business and work for them, which would be a big thing for us to see them move up and move into the private sector,” Creamer said.

MAB employees also work in telemarketing, warehousing and workshop positions, as well as other jobs. The group is well-known for the production of brooms, mops and plastic bags.

If you are interested in a job with the Contact Center, apply through the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, or call Creamer at 251-300-2478 (tcreamer@mobileblind.org). You may also apply by calling Ken Booker, Call Center manager, at 251-300-2479, or kbooker@mobileblind.org.

The two men will discuss the program Oct. 23 at 5:30 a.m. on WDLT 98.3 FM, and at 6 a.m. on WBLX 92.9 FM.