PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Kelly Cho, Community Outreach Associate at Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC)
2:53:04
·
164 sec
Kelly Cho from the Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) testified on behalf of KAFSC and a coalition of gender-based violence organizations serving immigrant communities. She emphasized the language barriers faced by their clients when accessing city services and expressed support for Introduction 215, which would establish an Office of Translation and Interpretation within the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.
- KAFSC and coalition members work directly with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking who face significant language barriers.
- Cho recommended creating consistency among translation contractors, expanding language services, and providing funding for nonprofits to translate documents and communicate with constituents.
- The testimony highlighted the importance of language access for immigrant communities, especially those affected by gender-based violence.
Kelly Cho
2:53:04
Good afternoon.
2:53:05
My name is Kelly Cho.
2:53:07
Community I already associate at the Korean American Family Service Center and are we testifying today on behalf of KAFSD and the collective coalition of gender based violence organizations serving immigrant communities throughout the five boroughs that also includes Shaqi for South South Asian survivors, Shaqiya II Center for African women and families, Viola's intervention program, and Roman time.
2:53:36
KaFSC is an urbanization dedicated to empowering immigrants survivors of gender based violence through comprehensive services.
2:53:46
Our clients, many of whom are Korean speaking immigrants with limited English proficiency, often face barriers in assisting vital city services due to language learning patients.
2:53:59
K a f s c and the members of the collective work directly with survivors with the survivors of domestic violence, sexual search, and human trafficking.
2:54:10
Many of whom face significant language barriers when assessing services.
2:54:16
In addition to engaging with the city to assess the research groups 311-800-0621, and family just family justice centers.
2:54:28
Individuals impacted by gender based violence are often referred to and received services from organizations like KAFSC and the members of the collective as we we have dedicated multilingual staff.
2:54:43
Individuals, our organizations serve, often speak little or no English, and rely on us to navigate complex systems from law enforcement, to housing, health care, and the courts.
2:54:58
We fully support introduction 215, which should establish an office of translation and interpretation within the within the office of immigrant affairs.
2:55:10
This would be a vital step toward ensuring language access for all American all immigrants community, including those we serve.
2:55:20
Along with this bill, we recommend the mayor's office's language services team to create consistency among translation construct contractors and expand the languages the translation and interpretation services are offered in.
2:55:36
We also recommend providing funding for nonprofits to also ensure they were able to translate documents and communicate with constituted themselves.
2:55:46
Thank you for your time and consideration.
