Q&A
Language access challenges in mental health crisis response
1:33:57
·
3 min
Council Member Lee raises concerns about language access in mental health crisis responses, particularly in immigrant communities. Representatives from various agencies discuss their strategies for addressing language barriers.
- Health + Hospitals primarily uses Language Line for translation needs in the field
- FDNY reports that many B-HEARD team members are bilingual, with some speaking Spanish
- FDNY has implemented a translator application on department phones to assist with communication in multiple languages
- Council Member Lee emphasizes the importance of recruiting multilingual responders to serve New York's diverse population
Linda Lee
1:33:57
Got it.
1:33:57
Yep.
1:33:58
Definitely.
1:34:00
And, oh, we've been joined also by council member Rivera on Zoom.
1:34:05
And and Let me just ask 1 or 2 more final questions before I hand it off, and then we'll come back because I know some of my colleagues have to leave.
1:34:15
But, you know, as someone who worked for many years in the nonprofit immigrant community where language access is very difficult, there is so much stigma.
1:34:25
If it's what what happens in situations where it turns out that you go to the site, and it's very clear that there needs to be someone who speaks a various different language, and, of course, I'm just thinking off the top of my head of Win Rosario's family situation.
1:34:41
If it deems where, you know, if it's necessary where they need some sort of more, you know, language capacity, like, yes, I know there's language line, but if you could speak to, you know, situations that you've run into where that's been a challenge, has language line worked?
1:34:59
Do you have how what percentage of your responders are bilingual and speak different languages if you could speak to that as well?
Jason Hansman
1:35:07
I'll talk just on the h and h side quickly.
1:35:10
So, yes, we would use in this instance language line for the majority of our translation needs in the in the community, I think.
1:35:19
And also thinking about I think there's another part of this, which is about the care and service that they might be connected with as well and thinking about what care and services would match their their language preference.
1:35:31
So we're using language line on the field.
1:35:33
We have not got any reports back that not meeting our needs out in the field.
1:35:38
So and it we have certainly employed it a number of times.
1:35:42
We can we can circle back with some more data on that.
1:35:45
But, you know, it's also about those responses and where we where we send folks to within the the larger be behavioral health system when it comes to language access.
1:35:57
Okay.
Linda Lee
1:35:58
And in terms of the other agencies and the folks on your response teams, if you could speak to if if there are folks that are speaking multiple languages.
1:36:08
And in the recruitment process, I I if I could, I would highly, highly urge that to be something that we include because, you know, as we know, we we live in a city that is so diverse and speaks so many languages.
1:36:20
And so if you could just speak to that as part of the recruitment and also whoever's on the response teams on your end with the EMS roles.
Cesar Escobar
1:36:29
So I'll just speak a little bit about our BEHA teams.
1:36:32
We have amazing personnel that work in the BEHARD team that are recruited specifically for the BEHARD.
1:36:41
Many of them have an experience with a mental health emergency in their family or in in their life.
1:36:48
And that's why they chose to be part of the be heard team.
1:36:53
Many of the members that work in be heard are bilingual.
1:36:57
They some of them speak Spanish and are, you know, use their Spanish skills.
1:37:04
We also just a couple months ago instituted a new application on our department phones, which every member carries, which is a translator application to assist them with any language that may need to better communicate with the members of the public.
Linda Lee
1:37:28
Okay, great.
1:37:28
Thank you.
1:37:30
So I'm gonna take a pause and then just recognize also we've been joined by council members, Brewer, Gutierrez, and wrestler.
1:37:37
And I'm gonna have passed it off because I know council member, Chair Ariola needs to leave soon.
1:37:41
So chair Ariola, if you wanted to go ahead and answer your questions.
