Breaking Barriers

Improving Language Access in Wisconsin

Thursday, October 17, 1 – 3pm
D.J. Bordini Center-Fox Valley Technical College [google map]
5 N Systems Dr, Appleton, WI 54914

This event is FREE and open to all healthcare providers, educators, direct service providers, government agencies, decision makers, and language advocates. This event will be in English.

In Wisconsin, 125,000 people are multilingual speakers and likely require language access services. Languages spoken include Spanish, Hmong, Chinese, and many more. However, essential services are often very difficult for multilingual families to access due to language barriers. This is a critical issue for people of color and immigrant families. Improving linguistic inclusivity ensures that all families have access to critical services and information.

We invite direct service providers to join us to learn more about language barriers and access, why it’s so important to address, and how your agency can get started or enhance the work you’re already doing. We hope you will join us as we move forward to a place of greater understanding and action.

Panelists

Amanda Martinez, Senior Policy Analyst, Kids Forward

Representative from the Multicultural Coalition, Inc

Juan Garcia Oyervides, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Director of Chicana/o & Latinx Studies, UW-Oshkosh

About Us

The Multicultural Coalition, Inc. (MCI) and Kids Forward have been working together for more than a year, speaking with families and local resource providers to figure out a way to address the current needs now, while at the same time identifying systems-level changes. This work stems from the deep needs felt during the height of the pandemic, when many immigrant communities had an especially hard time accessing basic needs because of language barriers.

Learn more about language barriers in Wisconsin here.