NYC Council creates first-ever language bank for city’s immigrant communities
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Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr
The New York City Council has introduced new resources to support and protect the city’s immigrant communities, in response to President Donald Trump’s attacks on immigration. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Wednesday announced the launch of the city’s first-ever Community Interpreter Bank, ensuring that all immigrants in the five boroughs can access resources in their preferred language. Adams also introduced the Protect NYC Families initiative, which allocates $2 million to over 60 nonprofits to expand legal services, helplines, community training, and rapid response efforts.
“New York City is a proud city of immigrants, and we must support our city’s families from attacks by the Trump administration,” Speaker Adams said. “The Council is proud to allocate more than $2 million in emergency funding for our Protect NYC Families Initiative, which will provide flexible funding for dozens of non-profit organizations that serve immigrant New Yorkers.”
Adams continued: “We are also proud to celebrate the Council’s investments to create the city’s first Community Interpreter Bank, which will help ensure that services are available in the languages that residents speak.”
This funding will help service providers expand their capacity to meet the evolving needs of the city’s immigrant communities. It comes as nonprofits face overwhelming demand for services amid intensified federal immigration enforcement.
The Community Interpreter Bank is a key part of the Language Justice Collaborative’s (LJC) “Language Access Workforce Initiative,” providing seamless access to certified interpreters and helping community members gain certification and employment.
The LJC is led by the NYIC, African Communities Together, Asian American Federation, Haitian-Americans United for Progress, and Masa.
Now the second program of its kind—and the first in the five boroughs—the interpreter bank will draw from a citywide pool, including worker-owned language cooperatives and graduates of CUNY Hostos’ interpreter certification courses.
Eligible interpreters will either be certified through a cooperative or have completed Hostos Community College’s first-ever Community Interpreter Certification course. They will work as independent contractors, delivering vital language services across the city.
These investments recognize the critical role of language access in fostering a more inclusive city while addressing the needs of asylum seekers who have arrived in record-breaking numbers in recent years.
“Language interpretation services are a vital pillar of a healthy, thriving, and diverse New York City, for both new and long-term immigrants navigating complex systems in an unfamiliar language,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition, said.
“The NYC Community Interpreter Bank ensures these individuals can access critical services in their preferred language while also creating a direct pipeline to employment for New Yorkers trained in interpretation.”
Find out more about the Language Access Workforce Initiative and the NYC Community Interpreter Bank here.
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