ATLANTA — There are many communities around Georgia that don’t speak English and, right now, organizations that serve them say it’s crucial there’s translated information and resources available for them.
As the number of COVID-19 cases rise in Georgia, so does the need for that critical translated information.
“We are in need of really having resources in Spanish,” said Victoria Hopkins, the Communications Manager for the “Latin American Association” in Atlanta.
Hopkins said they’ve noticed that need and have tried to bridge that gap.
“We use our social media platforms to connect with the community, to provide them with very basic information that’s so important right now,” said Hopkins.
The group has turned to posting their own discussion online to inform.
Their video explaining the governor’s shelter-in-place order racked up more than 10,000 views.
“It is critical that you feel that you’re a part of this and people are providing you information in your own language,” explained Hopkins.
The U.S. Census says Latinos make up about 10 percent of Georgia’s population.
The Latin American Association said about half of them live in Fulton, Cobb, Dekalb, and Gwinnett counties.
Gwinnett County is also home to one of the largest Asian populations in the state. So, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta group has also linked translated materials to their website.
Those four counties have translation tools on their websites, quickly changing the language of the information.
“There’s definitely a key element to make sure that the community’s healthy,” said Hopkins.
Gwinnett County Government told 11Alive they’ve produced a billboard with a “Keep Gwinnett Safe, Stay at Home” message translated into Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese. Those can be seen in various locations throughout the county, as well as the county’s social media pages.
The county’s website can also be changed into different languages.
Gwinnett County creates non-English billboards to help communicate to all residents
The DeKalb County Board of Health’s website content can be translated to a number of languages. This can be done by toggling the “select language” drop down in the upper right of any page header. They also have a few materials, mainly from the CDC, that are translated into other languages
The Cobb County website has a full page dedicated to COVID-19 news and information, also with the option to switch to more than a dozen of languages.
Fulton County's information can be found here.
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