Essential community radio station 1RPH is calling for more volunteers as numbers have "taken quite a hit" during the pandemic as more listeners tune in for vital information.
The radio station provides a reading service for not only people who live with visual impairment, but also other disabilities and the general population.
Stirling resident Robert Altamore, who is blind and has been a listener since the station started in 1985, said he tuned into the station more and more during the pandemic.
"I'm an avid listener and I do rely on it for Covid information," Mr Altamore said.
"My wife and I do, so do many other people with disabilities, family and friends included, who I know of."
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The 65-year-old said the service provided more details to the news headlines and "a greater variety of material".
"With regular radio news, you don't get a lot of background so this service keeps me in touch with that," Mr Altamore said.
"There's also a greater variety of material, including information relevant to my daily life and what's going on around the world."
Mr Altamore, who is also on the volunteer board at the station, encouraged others to tune in or help by volunteering.
"The station recently expanded and revised its programs, so I'd encourage people to listen, see what we do and might even find a spot on the station," he said.
Fellow listener Richard Wilmot, who lives with advanced multiple sclerosis, said the value of the station meant "I can have the ability to know about news that wouldn't be available to me otherwise".
"It's an extraordinary access to an invaluable service for people. Not just people with vision issues but for those with other disabilities and people who may be time-poor," Mr Wilmot said.
"Everything I do takes a long time physically and I don't have time to do much, so I can have the radio on in the background."
The 60-year-old, who lives in Ainslie, said he had been listening to the station for 10 years and it was more crucial during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I didn't get out much (during the peak of COVID-19), so having someone read the paper is important," he said.
The station will host an outside broadcast for the first time in years at the Volunteering Expo on May 22.
Station team member Neville Blyth said the pandemic had impacted volunteer numbers during the pandemic.
"It's dropped off a lot. Most of our volunteers are retirees who have been reducing the risks. That's changed how we did things in the studio," Mr Blyth said.
