Winston-Salem launches new plan to increase language access
Adolfo Briseño, a human relations and Hispanic outreach administrator, interprets for Javier Correa-Vega during a press conference held inside City Hall in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday, July 22, 2024. Photos by Santiago Ochoa/WFDD
Javier Correa-Vega, a language access coordinator, made Winston-Salem history when he stood behind the wooden podium inside the council chambers and delivered the city’s first press conference in Spanish.
As he spoke, members of the press listened with the help of a radio receiver and a set of headphones provided by the city. In the corner of the room, an interpreter repeated everything Correa-Vega said in English.
The coming months will be filled with many lingual firsts for City Hall, where a new Language Access Plan was unveiled on Monday. The plan dictates how city staff and resources will be made more accessible to non-English-speaking residents.
Correa-Vega said the Language Access Plan will be implemented in stages. One of his team’s first priorities was to establish a communication protocol for non-English speakers inside the city and county’s emergency management plan.
He cited the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire as one of the catalysts for the plan.
Headphones and transmitters lie on a chair inside Winston-Salem City Hall after being used for one of the first times during a press conference in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday, July 22, 2024.
“In case of an emergency, like with the Weaver plant fire, we will be present and provide interpretation and translations on-site,” Correa-Vega said. “There is a process we’re working on to supplement the city and county’s emergency operations plan.”
The Language Access Plan was developed in collaboration with the Language Access Collaborative, which brings state municipalities together to find ways to communicate with non-English speaking residents. Winston-Salem staff also worked with World Relief Triad, an immigrant and refugee advocacy group.
The 20-page Language Access Plan can be found on the city's website.
Bob Thompson, another language access coordinator, said the city also established a complaint process for non-English speakers to file any grievances with the access plan.
To file a complaint, residents can reach Correa-Vega at 336-734-1509 or javiercv@cityofws.org or Thompson at 336-734-1306 and robertth@cityofws.org.
The numbers
Correa-Vega said his team used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools to determine what the most popular and fastest-growing languages in the city are.
Their research found about 17,000 Winston-Salem residents have a limited English proficiency. That’s nearly seven percent of the city’s population.
While the majority of that group is Spanish-speaking, the city’s Language Access Plan identified Arabic, Chinese, Karenni and Swahili as increasingly popular languages. Correa-Vega said internal surveys confirmed those were the languages city staff most often encountered.
To determine translation and staff training needs, the plan employs a three-tiered language priority list.
For tier one languages, of which there are two, Spanish and American Sign Language, all vital documents and emergency messages will be translated. The city will actively recruit staff who speak those languages and train those who don’t.
Tier System
In tier two, emergency messaging will be translated and the city will provide access to sight translation for documents and remote interpretation. Tier two languages include Pashto, Dari and Farsi.
For all other languages, the city will offer translation and interpretation services on an individual basis.
The Language Access Plan will affect other branches of the city government. Thompson showed off a language identification guide for police officers and other municipal staff to use, in case they need it. The guide lists 30 languages.
City staff showed the two versions of a language identification guide that will help them better communicate with non-English speaking residents in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday, July 22, 2024.
“Many of these people came to Winston-Salem as refugees and they’re getting settled into our community and part of making them feel welcome here in the City of Winston-Salem is to provide services and resources in a language they understand,” Thompson said.
Thompson noted that the next city council meeting, which will happen in August, will be the first to feature live interpreters and American Sign Language interpreters. Bilingual signage within City Hall will come next, Correa-Vega said.
The Language Access Plan cost $25,000 to develop and implement. Funds came via a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.
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