Over the past several months, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has taken a great toll on the public health and economy of the United States and the rest of the world. While the federal and state governments have been quick to react in terms of economic stimulus measures, the organization of the public health response has been less than stellar and entire communities are continuing to suffer and be neglected.
One group that has been largely overlooked when it comes to providing language-related assistance for both healthcare access and economic assistance are the Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities. Nowhere has this been more visible than in the State of Texas. That is why helping LEP communities in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic is an imperative for those of us in the language services industry.
According to recent news reports, important information regarding the coronavirus, “stay-at-home” orders, and other regulations and rules that have changed frequently are not accessible to the one-third of Texas residents that speak a language other than English. Without providing translations of critical information, LEP individuals are being left in the dark when it comes to quarantine restrictions, how to access healthcare services (including testing), and public economic and other forms of assistance.
The inability (or unwillingness) of state and local governments to provide language access services to LEP communities is in violation of numerous federal and state/local government laws and regulations that are supposed to ensure equal access to LEP individuals. Most notably, these include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin, and Executive Order 13166 (issued in 2000), which affirms Title VI’s language access requirement and outlines additional requirements.
While there are various media organizations in Texas targeted for the Latino, Spanish-speaking population, which allows them to receive some vital information, there are still many other groups which do not have their own media to rely on. These include the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino communities, which represent three of the larger groups. There are also significant communities of Texans who speak French, Urdu, Korean, Hindi, Arabic, Burmese, and a variety of West African languages.
Without help from the government, some local communities are turning to trusted and immigrant-friendly community groups, non-profit organizations, and places of worship to get the information that they need. However, it is not enough to meet the needs of the large and diverse LEP communities in Texas, particularly when information changes quickly.
Here at Translation Source, helping LEP communities in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic is both important and personal to us. We are working with local businesses and community groups to offer our services free-of-charge or at significantly reduced rates in order to help ensure that these neglected groups have access to the information that they need to be safe, to obtain the services and assistance they need and that they are afforded by law, and to avoid unnecessary fines for violating quarantine and “stay-at-home” orders that they may not understand.
We are here to help! Therefore, if you need assistance communicating effectively with your LEP community or employees, please call us at (800) 413-7838 or email us at info@translation-source.com to learn more about our pro-bono translation and interpretation services program.
