As our new health organizer Tiffany settles in, a new study supports what we've known all along: 

"Not only does providing professional interpretation make good medical sense, so patients understand their diagnosis and understand the care they are receiving better, but it also makes good economic sense for hospitals." Read on for more!

Many Languages One Voice seeks bilingual Community Outreach/Story-Collecting interns to inform community members of their rights to access public services, gather stories about Limited/Non-English proficient individuals’ experiences, and evaluate government compliance with providing interpretation/translation services. Read on for more information!

This Thursday, Councilmember David Catania countered Mayor Vincent Gray's proposed $23 million cut to Alliance, a public health care program for DC's low-income residents. The Mayor's proposal would preserve primary care services, but eliminate emergency medical care, for many of DC's most vulnerable residents - including many undocumented individuals. At MLOV, we're especially concerned about Alliance because many of DC's Limited- and Non-English Proficient residents rely on it.

Catania's proposal to preserve Alliance, restoring $20 million to the program, met with unanimous approval from the DC City Council's Health Committee. Whether it survives the rest of the budget season remains to be seen. 

The Washington Post reported "the council would be restoring the health insurance program at the same time it is scaling back other government services, including millions in services for the poor, potentially sparking fresh debate about whether city benefits for undocumented immigrants are too generous."

Inflammatory rhetoric from the Twitterverse: "Catania gives $20 million 2 illegal immigrants that could be going to the poor children and homeless citizens of DC." "DC puts illegal aliens ahead of taxpayers and citizens' needs." "DC cutting programs for residents, finds $20m for illegal alien healthcare."

Is saving the life of your neighbor - after all, it's emergency services that the Mayor proposed slashing -  "too generous"? Are not some undocumented immigrants themselves poor children and homeless (and they're all taxpayers)? Should a lack of immigration paperwork be the grounds to deny someone basic human rights? Finally, why are "millions in services to the poor" even on the chopping block in a year when DC has a $240 million surplus? 

Coolidge Senior High School will be the first high school in DC with an "English Language Learner (ELL) Support Group", a student envisioned- and led-initiative meant to enrich the overall experience of the school's ELL families. 

Coolidge SMART members spent this past school year researching the best school-based approaches to addressing issues commonly faced by ELL students. After much research, group discussion, and working through proposals, students presented their idea for an intergenerational team dedicated to transforming their school into a multicultural hub. Coolidge's Principal, Thelma Jarrett, was extremely enthusiastic about implementing this student-envisioned project and celebrated the possibility of engaging more immigrant parents in school activities.

Principal Jarrett requested to meet with students again later this month to review SMART's suggestions for the concrete action steps Coolidge needs to take to successfully implement the group next year. The principal also asked students to consider personalizing the name of the group to include Coolidge's overall mission and vision. 

Congratulations to all our SMART members who made this happen: Lidya Abune, Rahwa Mebrahtom, Yonatan Abune, Melat Tsehaye,  Fasil Tsahaye, Tedla Mekkonen, Basluel Mekkonen, Holy Mbah, Kevine, Ribeka Amanuale, Samuael Seyoum, Nahom Girma, Tensaye Dagnachew

Read more on our SMART blog!