FEMA Outreach Extends Beyond Language Barriers
Hurricane Rita's Six-Month Anniversary - 'Doing a 180: From Disaster to Recovery' One in a Series
Release Date: March 23, 2006
Release Number: 1606-169
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita
AUSTIN, Texas -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assists those affected by disasters in a multitude of ways, no matter what language they may speak.
Non-English speaking callers registering at FEMA's toll-free tele-registration number,
1-800-621-3362, have 173 languages and dialects available. When hurricane victims call the tele-registration number, or TTY 800-462-7585, to register for disaster assistance or get information, they may choose English, Spanish or other language (option no. 3).
The languages readily available to Texas residents include Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese (Mandarin), German, French, Korean, Russian and Creole.
When a call comes in for non-English assistance, it is forwarded to a Language Services Coordinator who determines the language and dialect needed. The caller is then helped with registering for aid and having questions answered by someone speaking his or her native language.
Once a disaster is declared, FEMA begins an extensive program to get word to individuals about available programs and how to register for state and federal assistance. Those methods include sending press releases and public service announcements to media in the affected counties, often in Spanish and other pertinent languages. FEMA public information officers also provide interviews to local television and radio stations, many times doing live, call in question and answer programs to help inform the public of the assistance available.
In addition, Community Relations teams visit all the communities in a declared county distributing flyers, brochures, pamphlets newsletters, and books with program information and how to request help. All FEMA literature is available in Spanish and can be translated to other languages when needed. Many Community Relations specialists and public information officers are bilingual in various languages.
Recently, FEMA Community Relations teams in Orange and Jefferson Counties found that hurricane victims were not contacting FEMA because they didn't speak English. Team members initiated a comprehensive outreach to quickly solve the problem. The outreach included hiring two local citizens as interpreters to work with the Community Relations teams.
Working with local officials, community groups, the interpreters, and local media, FEMA held a town hall-style meeting and a series of workshops throughout the week.
"We considered the town hall meeting a success when the guests didn't walk out after the speakers finished," said FEMA Community Relations Officer Doug Bodem. "They stayed, and through the aid of the interpreters, met with FEMA Individual Assistance specialists and U.S. Small Business Administration loan officers about housing and other programs available to help toward their individual recovery."
In addition to the workshops, Vietnamese interpreters worked alongside FEMA representatives at the Beaumont Disaster Recovery Center , where victims met face-to-face with program representatives about available help and got information on their individual case.
"Without precise communication, the process of getting assistance for everyone would quickly break down," Bodem said. "Our efforts to reach these people changed the entire attitude of this population and we were able to get them much needed help."
As a result of the needs of the Vietnamese community, FEMA also published 3,000 copies of Recovery Times in that language. Recovery Times is a newsletter with information about disaster assistance programs, registration and recovery information and telephone numbers important to a recovery process. Recovery Times also was published in Spanish and distributed throughout those communities in Texas .
Anyone who has yet to register for federal and state disaster assistance is encouraged to register at FEMA's toll-free tele-registration at 1-800-621-3362 daily between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. (CST) until further notice, or online at www.fema.gov or at www.fema.gov/spanish/ for Spanish.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 31-May-2006 13:37:46