CRIS Radio Helps the Blind Stay Informed

Most people are totally unaware that Danbury has a radio network completely separate from WLAD and other local radio stations. It is CRIS, the Connecticut Radio Information System, operated by the Lions Club. 

CRIS serves blind people and anyone who cannot hold a newspaper.  Every Monday through Friday, volunteers read the Danbury News-Times over the air from 8 a.m. to noon, and from 6 to 9 p. m. The broadcasts are received on special radios that the provides free to their listeners.

“I don’t think most people realize what you lose when you can’t read the newspaper,” said Keith Beaver, the Lions Club volunteer who serves as the Studio Coordinator for CRIS. “A lot of people call me back after I set up a radio receiver for them and tell me how much difference it has made in their lives.” 

“It gives freedom to that person,” he continued. “One of the things we read is the store fliers.  Then, when someone takes them shopping, they know where they want to go.” He adds, “Sometimes when listeners get to know our readers, they’ll call us and say, ‘I haven’t heard Bob,’ — or their favorite reader. It becomes a huge part of their lives, and a big part of their day.”

None of the readers have had any prior experience, according to Beaver. But they find the more they do it, the more comfortable they get, and that comes across on the radio. 

“Some of our readers have a blast with it,” Beaver said. “Within limits, they do a little ad-libbing, here and there. It just makes it entertaining.” 

reads for a half-hour every week. During a recent session, he laughed and said, “We like to have fun with it.” He’s been broadcasting for six years.

Most of the volunteers are not Lions Club members; each one reads for an hour, or half an hour, every week. 

“Our readers are really dedicated,” Beaver said. “They’re here once a week, the whole year long. They wear different hats — weatherman, columnist, news reporter.”

The Danbury station currently has 20 readers, ranging from high school students to older folks. Hugh Morgan, a Lions Club member, has been broadcasting for 17 years, as has Norma Campbell. John and Jo Luicci have been doing it for 16 years. Volunteers learn about the service from friends, the Lions Club website or the Volunteer Center. In addition, Beaver gives presentations about the program to local groups.

Set up in January of 1994, the Danbury studio broadcasts to radios in 30 towns, including Sherman, New Milford, Brookfield, Bethel, Newtown, Woodbury and Southbury. It is one of five studios run by Lions Clubs around the state, with the headquarters facility and main studio located in Windsor. It was established in 1978 and is on the air 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The others are located in Trumbull, New Haven and Norwich, and they broadcast on a more limited basis.

Over the years, the Danbury Lions Club has placed 380 radios in peoples’ homes. When listeners are not tuned in to the News-Times, they can listen to the Windsor broadcasts of a variety of other publications, including The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine and Reader’s Digest, among others. 

Most listeners learn about the service through senior centers, social service agencies, Lions Club members and friends. “A lot of listeners hear about it through their eye doctors,” Danbury resident Kimberly Marcus chimed in.

“My gram had the service. She was legally blind with macular degeneration and she heard about it through her doctor,” said Marcus, who has been reading for six years. “The days are over when people could depend on the radio for all their news, so this is a great service.”

For further information on CRIS, contact Beaver at 203-778-2000.