Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Proposed Community Action Plan For Casa Cornelia Law Center, Allison Bechill, Scott Campbell, Casey Mckinley

Community Engagement and Collaboration

Casa Cornelia and scores of other public and private agencies rely on interpreters and translators for communicating with immigrants and their communities. Volunteer support overcomes language barriers and ensures that all clients have access to support services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of qualified volunteer interpreters and translators available, most acutely for its Somali clients, which comprise the largest percentage of its Asylum Program’s caseload.

This paper considers possible solutions to the insufficient number of volunteers that are currently available to Casa Cornelia.