New System Helps Non-Profit Remain a Place of Healing
With a full IP-network video system donated by Axis Communications, Marguerite’s Place can fulfill its mission of providing a safe residence, where mothers in crisis can heal and transition towards independence.
Mission
At Marguerite’s Place, a transitional housing program for women and children in crisis, peace of mind is paramount. When the program’s existing video surveillance system became unreliable and outdated, it undermined the foundation of safety and security that is so important to residents. Senior staff began a quest to find a replacement system that would be reliable and user-friendly, furnish very clear images in all light levels, and allow multiple staff members to log in and view video feeds from anywhere, at any time of day or night.
Solution
After investigating several different video surveillance solutions from a number of vendors, systems integrator Telephone Network Technologies decided on an IP-network video system from Axis Communications. It met all of the program’s requirements of reliability, high resolution, built-in IR illumination for nighttime surveillance, remote access to video feeds from any location, and even more features than Marguerite’s Place had asked for, such as a vast amount of video storage. Axis donated the entire system to the non-profit housing program, including four additional cameras that helped cover gaps in the previous system.
Result
Once installed, the new IP-network video system had an immediate impact. The staff can now show families the Axis camera feed to assuage their fear of being tracked down and bolster their feeling of security which is the first step in healing. The system enables the staff to triage situations quickly by making it effortless to view both live and recorded video. Armed with clear video confirmation of the situation, staff have been able to reduce the need for police response.
I can’t say enough about the quality of the system that we have in place right now. Things are just so clear. It makes life a lot simpler in our world.
Women’s Needs Drive the Mission
Safety and security are core to the mission of Marguerite’s Place, a non-profit organization that helps women with children achieve self-sufficiency through safe, stable, transitional housing and related services. When that mission was at risk of being compromised due to an unreliable and outdated video surveillance system, the decision-making team at Marguerite’s Place sought out a more purposeful and reliable solution. They turned to systems integrator Telephone Network Technologies (TNT) for guidance.
“We were in a position where we had an existing camera system in place that was extremely unreliable. We never knew day-to-day if it was going to work or not. We were not able to access it remotely and even onsite. We had multiple issues with the system and had already started talking to TNT about the possibility of installing a new system and things that we were looking for,” describes Director of Operations Julie Noel.
The very nature of its mission is what drives the security requirements of Marguerite’s Place. Many of the women who join the program are fleeing domestic violence or previous substance-abuse situations. They experience daily concerns about their safety, such as having their cars broken into or the possibility of an ex-partner attempting to locate them or their children.
Having a reliable and manageable video system enables Marguerite’s Place to fulfill its mission of welcoming mothers in crisis and helping them stabilize and launch towards independence. “We want to make sure that they feel safe coming into our program and living with us. And that the families in our childcare know that their children are safe, as well,” Noel says. “The video cameras are huge for helping ease their minds with that.”
Marguerite’s Place consists of two side-by-side buildings that together house 10 private apartments for use by families in the program. The buildings also hold office space and a fully licensed childcare operation that is open to the public.
Needed: Reliability, Remote Access, High Resolution
In looking for a replacement system, Marguerite’s Place staff identified three crucial requirements. The first was reliability — “that at any point in time, we could sign in whether it be via phone, via computer, via laptop, and the system would be up and running,” Noel says.
Next was allowing multiple people to have remote access to the video around-the-clock. To ensure the success of the program’s on-call rotation, the staff needed to be able to log in and view video feeds from anywhere, on or off-site. With the existing system, they were only able to view the video from a monitor in the office; there was no remote access.
And finally, Marguerite’s Place staff wanted greater resolution and clearer images. “There were videos with the old system that were very unclear. We couldn’t really make out what we were looking at,” Noel describes.
Brian Maillet, operations manager at TNT, examined systems from several different manufacturers and resolved that “Axis really stepped up to the plate with a great offering.” Maillet drew up plans for an Axis IP-network video system that included 14 Axis M-line bullet-style network cameras and a network video recorder, all manageable through the AXIS Camera Station video management system.
The solution is a perfect fit for the program’s requirements says Maillet. “When making the decision, it was just a big quality difference. When the sun changes — whether a shadow is coming across or it gets darker at night — the image quality adjusts so much better than any brand out there.” Adding to the benefits of the system for the non-profit organization, is the fact that all of the equipment, including four additional cameras, were donated by Axis and the installation was discounted by TNT.
Not only do the Axis M-line cameras feature HDTV 1080p image quality, but they also have a built-in IR LED for capturing high-resolution video in dark scenes and at night. “Whether you have the correct amount of light or not, the cameras are able to self-adjust incredibly. You can actually make out who the person is; you can make out little details,” Maillet describes.
Image quality was a decisive factor because all the cameras are located outdoors. They view the street in front of the buildings, parking areas, the shelter’s playground, childcare entrances, and apartment entrances. A single camera covers a wide 115-degree horizontal field-of-view.
“We have a view of every area that we would need to have our eyes on,” Noel says. In addition, due to “the generosity of Axis,” additional cameras in the new system provide views of areas that previously were “dead spots” between the buildings, she says.
Managing the System with AXIS Camera Station
The AXIS Camera Station network video recorder records the video generated by the 14 cameras in the system, at 15 frames per second. Because the cameras incorporate Axis Zipstream technology, the system preserves all the important forensic detail needed, while lowering bandwidth and storage requirements by 50 percent or more.
Remote viewing of the video is allowed through AXIS Camera Station video management software. Four senior staff members — all of whom have access to both live and recorded video — take turns being on-call, so at least one senior staff member is available 24/7 and can pull up relevant video as needed. Two additional staff members, called residential aids, are present at Marguerite’s Place until midnight every day. While the residential aids have multiple duties and don’t watch the video feeds continuously, they do view the on-site monitors often, especially at night.
Marguerite’s Place uses the Axis IP-network video system to assess any issues as they arise and prioritize response, Noel explains. With the previous system, staff would automatically call the police for assistance with practically any situation. Now, however, they call police less often because they’re able to triage the situation themselves using live-camera mode and dispatch the correct staff member.
Because Marguerite’s Place is located in an active neighborhood, Noel says the Nashua Police Department has requested their video footage from specific dates quite a few times. “And they have commented on the quality of the Axis camera system,” she says.
Staff also have the ability with the new system to export video clips. “There is a clearly marked icon for exporting videos once you choose the camera, and they are quickly saved to your computer. I found the process to be very straightforward and user-friendly,” Noel says.
Another feature she likes about AXIS Camera Station is having all 14 cameras display in a loop sequence on a monitor in her office. Each camera scene dwells for about three seconds before changing to the next camera.
Benefits / Security-in-Action
The previous system at Marguerite’s Place pales in comparison to level of performance of the new Axis IP-network video system.
Late one night there was knocking at the apartment door of a woman who had just arrived at the program from a domestic-violence environment. The knocking made her fearful because she wasn’t expecting anyone. “She reached out to one of our staff members, who immediately reached out to me. I was able to pull up the camera view and immediately, clear as day, could see that it was someone delivering food and they just had the wrong building.”
“We were able to communicate that within minutes of her reaching out to us. We showed her a screenshot of the person trying to deliver the food and it eased her mind. She could easily see that the person was nobody she knew, so she and her children were able to go to sleep and not have to worry that night,” Noel describes.
In addition to better image quality and remote access, the amount of storage also has been upgraded. The previous system used videotapes. “We had a tape for each day of the week, and when the next week started, we lost the footage for the prior week. Whereas now I haven’t had a day that I’ve tried to get to, but couldn’t,” Noel says.
Tyler Deane, telecommunications technician at TNT, explains that the cameras are set to record continuously, and there are 11 terabytes of storage on the server. “The ability to have clarity on their camera system now, and the ability to go back in time far enough if they have to cover anything — that’s a huge improvement from the old system,” Deane describes.
Maillet concurs, “As an installer, we know a lot of brands and Axis Communications has, in our professional opinion, the No. 1 reputation out there.”
Noel says they feel thankful to have the cameras. “We’re just so pleased with the system and the way it’s working out and meeting our needs. The remote access has just been huge for us, opening up the availability for multiple staff members to be on call,” Noel says. “And we’re able to use the mobile app to access the cameras and to ease our clients’ minds. It’s just one more piece to make them feel a little bit safer and so we’re extremely appreciative of that.”
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