Lina Guerra used to spend her nights pouring drinks for passengers at Boston’s Logan Airport. The menial job left the 36-year-old single mother of a newborn feeling like she hadn’t realized the economic potential her parents gifted her when they left Colombia in the late 1980s.
During her prolonged hunt for a salaried position, Guerra came across an ad that seemed too perfect. “There’s no way I’ll get it,” she thought. Despite possessing the required language skills, she hesitated, right up to the deadline, before applying. A few weeks later, Guerra received a call to come in for an interview.
The position? A medical interpreter fellowship with Found in Translation, a nonprofit that trains low-income, bilingual immigrant women and places them in jobs at prestigious hospitals in the Boston area. Launched by Maria Vertkin (a Russian immigrant herself) in 2011, the organization has recruited 158 participants that collectively speak about a dozen languages, including Spanish, Haitian Creole, Arabic and Portuguese.
During more than 100 hours of training, fellows learn the rigors of medical interpreting. “You have to be very accurate,” Guerra says. A loose, informal translation could lead to the wrong diagnosis. When a patient describes a stomachache, for example, the interpreter must possess the vocabulary, in both languages, to translate “tummy,” “belly,” “stomach” or “abdomen” to convey the right connotation. On top of that, Guerra adds, interpreters must know the slang for each culture.
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Interpreters act as cultural brokers. During one prep class, for instance, trainees debated the appropriate gender for a gynecologist or urologist. (Arabic speakers believed patients should see a physician of the same gender; those of Spanish heritage believed doing so would imply homosexuality.)
They also learn to advocate, and in a few rare instances, interrupt on the patient’s behalf. “There’s implicit bias and prejudice,” Vertkin says. “It’s the interpreter’s job to say, ‘Wait a minute, are there other options? You’re only offering the cheapest metal filling.’ That might be because of who the patient is and the assumption that they’re poor. The interpreter has the obligation then to intervene.”
With the new commander-in-chief calling for a border wall, mass deportations and an unprecedented Muslim travel ban, times are tough for immigrants like Guerra, who arrived in this country at age 8. She has a message for President Trump: “Please know in your heart that the majority of non-English speaking people have an even greater desire to be American than some people that were born in this country. They are so proud to be in America, regardless of the struggles that they are currently facing,” Guerra says, pleading, “Give them a chance.”
Employed by a translation agency, Guerra makes her living speaking for foreigners. Perhaps it’s time we all starting listening to what she has to say.
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Tag: Low-Income
The Impoverished Often Choose Between Buying Furniture and Food. This Group Makes Sure They Have Both
Dr. Mark Bergel hasn’t slept in a bed since 2008. But thanks to his efforts, many of his neighbors have.
While volunteering at a Washington, D.C. nonprofit that delivered meals to impoverished residents, Bergel noticed that many families lacked enough beds for all of a household’s residents — or they didn’t have any beds at all. Learning that many of those living in poverty forgo basic furnishings in order to put food on the table, he started A Wider Circle.
The organization’s largest initiative, Neighbor-to-Neighbor, accepts donated furniture and distributes it to low-income residents across the Washington, D.C., area. A Wider Circle also operates the new Wraparound Support program, which enlists up to four volunteers to focus on one individual or family as they seek to rise out of poverty.
Watch the video above to see why Bergel sleeps on his couch and how A Wider Circle is making life better for almost 16,000 adults and children each year.
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People, Not Stocks, Are What This Special Nonprofit Invests In
We’ve all heard of investing in companies, but what about investing in individual people? Perhaps, the idea isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.
After all, that’s the model of the Albuquerque-based nonprofit Prosperity Works. Ona Porter, the president and CEO of the organization told Kevin Robinson-Avilia of the Albuquerque Journal, “We believe in the concept that income gets you by, but assets get you ahead. Asset building creates a safety net for people to leverage more opportunities. It seeds dreams.”
So who’s eligible to enroll? People who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty rate — that’s $42,000 for a family of four — can build assets in three ways: personal, financial, and social. (Those earning more than that aren’t disqualified completely; they can still take free classes.)
The financial portion of the program involves free financial literacy and management classes, as well as Individual Development Accounts, or IDAs, through which participants can save money and receive dollar-for-dollar matching funds (up to $4,000) encouraging them to save. Once their goal is met, the participant can tap into the money to pay for education, fund a business, or put a down payment on a home.
Participants also build personal assets through gaining additional education or certifications and develop social assets by learning what resources are available to them in their communities. Porter describes the program as, “a coach-based empowerment model that helps people build financial stability and create opportunities for themselves.”
The unique approach seems to be working. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides grants for programs running IDAs — $20 million worth in 2013. According to the HHS, since 1999, 84,000 people have participated in IDAs, saving more than $76 million in income.
One success story is Rick Noland, who used his matching funds to expand his bike rental business. He started The BikeSmith in 2010 with 16 bicycles. Now, he has his own 800-square-foot shop near Old Town Albuquerque and recently hired his first employee. Noland said that the Prosperity Works program was a life-changer. “It forced me to take a comprehensive look at all my finances, put things into perspective and create a new plan for the future. It helped me better control and manage things, and now, several years later, I’ve become essentially debt free.”
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SXSW: How Benevolent Gives a Voice to People Who Aren’t Usually Heard
While others talked about cloud robotics, tried on wearable technology, or watched a 3-D printer spit out custom-made Oreos, Megan Kashner focused her SXSW Interactive session on video interviews with low-income Americans and the lessons that we can learn from listening to people in need.
Kashner, a clinical social worker, is the founder of Benevolent.net, a website that helps low-income people raise funds for things they need. “We at Benevolent are not the only people talking about listening, and not just listening, but following the lead of low-income Americans,” she said of the motivation behind her panel “Listening to People in Need: Lessons for America.”
On Benevolent, people tell their stories and describe what stands in the way of their success. The platform also aims to provide a simple way for those who want to help “to step into the stories of those who are trying to reach their goals” by donating to individuals whose videos and needs are featured.
Here is what we learned from the video interviews with John, Tasha, Kris, Melissa, and Danielle:
Lesson #1: “Getting and keeping a job is expensive.” The costs of uniforms and tools needed for certain jobs are costly and can be a barrier for low income Americans needing work to improve their situation.
Lesson #2: “Transportation is a huge issue.” Sometimes public transportation is the only option — given the cost of buying and maintaining a car. But it can prevent someone with good intentions and a great work ethic from making it to work or class on time.
Lesson #3: “Being employed is not enough.” Finding work is only half the battle, as low wages and high costs of living mean that many people who are working long hours still need food stamps, subsidized energy and childcare, and housing assistance to provide for their families.
Lesson #4: “Kids need more than a roof over their heads.” Housing instability can hold kids back from getting the most out of their education. And beyond a safe place to life, kids also need a parent who can pick them up if they stay after school for activities, who can help them with homework, and who can pack them a school lunch.
Lesson #5: “We need to change the rules.” By listening to the stories of low-income Americans and learning from them, we can fix the systemic problems that lead to poverty.
As Kashner wrote in a Huffington Post piece, where she previewed the five lessons she discussed at SXSW, “How would we re-structure supports and employment practices to make it possible for low-income Americans to set their goals, get help overcoming hurdles, and know that people believed in them? Let’s start that conversation and stop the vitriol that has marked recent conversations about poverty and progress.”
Through these stories — both in the session and on the site — Benevolent is able to simplify an issue as complex as how to pull an individual out of poverty. How does the site do it? By breaking it down in human terms. The story of John, who needed steel-toed boots and precision instruments for his job as a machinist, brought a human face to the American issue of, as Kashner put it, “people needing to spend money they don’t have to take a job they desperately need.” The video featuring Tasha, who was able to escape domestic violence only by moving to a shelter two hours away from where her kids went to school, brought life to this statistic: Low- to moderate-income households spend 42 percent of their total annual income on transportation.
The last lesson built off of a video of Danielle, who looked to Benevolent donors when she needed money for a security deposit in order to live in a safer place with her son. Danielle, who cuts railroad tracks for a living, quoted Robert Reich on how being poor is the hardest job in America. “And I gotta tell you as a poor person, as a working poor person, it definitely is,” she said.
When NationSwell asked what is working when it comes to changing the rules, and who beyond Benevolent is listening to the stories low-income Americans, Kashner mentioned the Family Independence Initiative, which weaves together these experiences with hard data to challenge the stereotypes holding low-income families back, and LIFT, an organization that connects trained advocates and community members to help low-income Americans get ahead.
“They are pioneering some really interesting ways to listen to and shape their policy positions and their programmatic approach based on what their clients are telling them,” Kashner said of the LIFT team.
“The people who are doing the real work everyday to help and walk alongside low-income families as they try and reach their goals are small, local organizations,” she added — saying the solutions lie not with one organization but with the numerous school counselors, social workers, pastors, and others who listen to these stories and use them to change the rules.
Watch one of the videos from the session above then let us know what you think about some of the questions Kashner posed: What would our nation be like if we listened to what low-income Americans had to say? How might that change our approach as a country, as policymakers, as employers, as voters, and as community members?
How the USDA’s New Changes Are Trying to Give Women and Children the Best Start Possible
Hello salads, lean proteins, whole grains, and dairy products!
With recent news of the the decline in obesity in preschool and kindergarten-aged children, and the push for clearer nutritional labels on food packaging, the future looks much healthier for all Americans. And now, the government-funded WIC program (which stands for for Women, Infants and Children) is getting on board, too, by adding healthier options to their food choices.
Recipients now have access to nutritious fare such as fresh, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables; yogurts; whole grain breads and pastas; as well as a tofu option for vegetarians; the USDA announced.
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The WIC program was started in 1974 as a way for low-income woman and their children to have access to food — feeding more than half of newborn babies in the United States. Three decades later, it’s been given a much-needed overhaul. “The updates to the WIC food package make pivotal improvements to the program and better meet the diverse nutritional needs of mothers and their young children,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a USDA news release. “The foods provided by the WIC program, along with education that focuses on the critical role of breastfeeding and proper nutrition, help to ensure that every American child has the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong.”
Sounds like a recipe for healthy living to us.
This Innovative Website Connects Mobile Phone Users to Vital Services
These days, it seems like just about everyone — from small children to the elderly — has a cell phone. This can even be said of low-income and homeless individuals in San Francisco (home of the country’s hottest tech hub), where a decent percentage this population has mobile phones.
So in order to connect these residents — about 6,500 homeless individuals live within the city limits — with vital services such as food, shelter, hygiene and medical services, Zendesk, in partnership with Gray Area Foundation and St. Anthony’s Tech Lab, created Link-SF. The site, which is specifically optimized for mobile users, officially launched on Friday after a month of testing. It gives homeless and low-income individuals from across the city the ability to search for nearby services through an easy-to-use mobile site that takes advantage of technological advances such as geolocating and real-time data. This way, individuals can be directed to services they need quickly and efficiently.
Additionally, Link-SF gives users the location, phone numbers and hours of operation for service providers, plus it also allows for filters where users can narrow the search depending on specific needs — such as women’s shelters or places suitable for children.
“Historically, the way service-seekers find out about services is a printed piece of paper, a spreadsheet,” Kenshiro Nakagawa, software engineer at Zendesk, told Mashable. “That’s very different than what the consumer world uses [today]. There’s no reason why, besides access to the web, service-seekers wouldn’t have the same tools at their disposal.”
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The idea for Link-SF was born from workers at St. Anthony’s Tech Lab, a free technology center for the homeless and low-income population located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. These workers began to notice an increase in web-enabled, mobile phone use from the people who visited the lab. Of course, we’re not talking primarily about high-end smartphone devices. Rather, the lab’s representatives estimate that at least 45 percent of visitors have basic “feature phones”, which is exactly what Link-SF was optimized for.
For a population that is increasingly relying on mobile phones to find and access vital services, Link-SF is putting all the information they need right at their fingertips.
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These Workers Are There When We Need Them. Now We’ve Got to Keep Them Safe
Day laborers—those workmen for hire you might see gathered on a street corner—are often the targets of abuse, sometimes asked to work under unsafe conditions for low pay. Many become victims of wage theft, and because many of them are immigrants or have only a limited grasp of English, they have little recourse. According to a report by Baruch College, many day laborers employed to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy became sick from contact with hazardous materials. But as Claudia Torrens reports for the Associated Press, several organizations across the country are working to make conditions fairer and safer for day laborers.
The Latin Union of Chicago hosts a worker’s center to help day laborers negotiate work contracts and educate them about safety. “In street corners the agreement is only verbal. We are more organized in the center,” Jose Luis Gallardo of the Latin Union told Torres. “We want to prevent wage theft. We want both the contractor and the day laborer to sign the work agreement.” Similar organizations are found in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
New York City has three such centers, including the new Workers Justice Project in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This nonprofit has helped 500 registered workers raise their average annual wage from $20,000 to $46,800. Representatives from this and other centers visit day laborers, educate them, and hand out gloves and masks to keep them safe.
These centers don’t only help the workers—they also help the employer find the right people for the job. Allan Suarez, whose company All Renovation works with the Workers Justice Project to find temporary help, told Torrens, “We have full faith that if we tell them we need a specific person they will bring us someone with that experience. It alleviates us from going out and trying to find someone when we have these good connections.”
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