Asheville, North Carolina What's Up AVL!, 19 Apr 2023

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From YouTube: What's Up AVL! – Episode 22

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Host Sam Parada sits down with Ricardo Tapia-Basurto, Communication Specialist with the City of Asheville's Communication and Public Engagement Department, to talk about his new position with the City and the importance of language accessibility.

A

It's now time for what's up Asheville sponsored by the city of Asheville, with the host Mr, Sam burrata, and here he is.

B

Hello Asheville welcome to what's up Asheville here on wres 100.7 FM. um Today we have a very special guest someone who you might recognize from previous episodes, our very own Ricardo tapio.

C

How are you excellent, I'm so happy to be here in Nashville and in the show you know it's so cool, so vibrant I'm, so so great to great to see the whole team I know yeah.

B

So Ricardo left us last year in May he moved to Massachusetts and we managed to snack him back for like just a week. Yeah.

C

I mean being remotely doesn't mean that you can do your job and you can continue engaging and supporting so I'm really excited to be part of here with the team and with everyone in the city. It's amazing really yeah.

B

So Ricardo um used to hold the position that I have right now now um and then he I think you stopped working with us for a couple of weeks until you came back in your new position, yeah stronger than ever. So why.

A

C

B

What your new position is and what you do for the Department yeah.

C

Well, I'm part of the cape, the communication and public engagement, Department of the city of Asheville, which means like we deal with a lot like the communications and reaching out to the community, make sure like they hear, and they know about the city and I am fortunate enough to be in a position of like being the language accessibility specialist, which means like we are putting a little like work into developing strategies and materials to reach out to people with English limited proficiency here in Nashville, and that's part of like what I'm trying to do and work transversely across, like all departments.

C

B

Yeah and language accessibility is something new that the city is tackling, like your position was made entirely for yourself to be able to give information to those who either English is theirs is their second language or they don't speak English at all, or have some limitations um that most other people don't struggle with, such as Vision impairment or hearing disabilities.

B

So, let's, let's get to the root of this. What is language accessibility and why is it so important great.

C

I think that's that's a really important question that we have to be aware because many times we take things for granted and basically what it is is like easing the access to the government resources, regardless of like any condition, uh technology access, language ability in this case or like if you have like a disability that shouldn't be an impediment for you to have access to the information, resources and services that your governments are providing for. You course, no one!

C

No one should be constrained or affected about it and that's what we're trying to to do we're trying to reach out to the community with a limited English proficiency or who is deaf or blind or have a uh some disability that shouldn't be an issue at all for the attention that they're getting. If they want to call the phone come in person go to a meeting, they should be able to participate just like as everyone else and that's kind of what we're trying to do make sure. Like that's possible. I.

B

Know a big horror. Roll in this conversation is oh, but these people don't speak English. So why should they participate? And the whole point is that we work for the public yeah and you know, even if you do not speak the language, you know you're. Here you pay your taxes. You go to work you're, a member of the community, so you should have as much access as everyone else, um because you know we serve you absolutely.

C

And sometimes we cannot forget, but- uh or we don't realize like how diverse and rich is our community according to the last census in the city, uh eight percent of the population is foreign born. uh Seven percent are Latinos, so we have a not only the city but in the Bangkok County and all the towns surrounding Asheville.

C

There's a significant like uh Spanish-speaking population, russian-speaking population or crown is speaking population and we have a significant, also population that has like uh some sort of like disability and requires like a pretty in Braille or like uh American Sign Language. So those are needs that must be covered. We cannot pretend that the people well, they they don't exist, and we certainly cannot put like all the responsibility on them to see like well. You figure it out and you'll see how you do.

B

It no exactly we.

C

Should to be proactive to make sure like they feel welcome, and they can access accommodate to us. Yeah.

B

And I'm, hoping that you know with more voices that we hear from you know, we always have the same. People go to City Council meetings. We have the same people answer surveys reach out to us and my goal, personal goal and I know this is the same goal of our department is to be able to hear for from everyone yeah.

B

uh We want to hear from you even if it's your first time your voice has as much weight as everybody else's um and I think that the more people speak, the more variety we'll know, and you know maybe things will be done differently, but we do need public input. Absolutely.

C

I think like there's nothing wrong with uh having people participating and being always the same. That's that's amazing that they're so involved in their Community. I I really upload that, but we should encourage more people to realize like they can participate. They can sign a petition. They can ask for something, because if there's they have an idea how their Community could be better, they neighborhood could improve it. Somehow they should do it. You know building a community getting to know each other starting together.

C

That's that's the route that made this country and this this city, so.

A

C

Cool in the first place, so we should should be able to promote and get.

B

You to do that yeah and at the same time you know um you know I'm a big Advocate on education, yeah, absolutely and so I think that's another piece of this. You know once we start reaching out to non-english speaking communities, that Asheville has.

B

We will be able to teach how government local government works, how they can be more involved, and my goal is that you know maybe to our listeners. You have a friend who doesn't speak that much English and this friend comes to you and says: hey. Did you know that you can do this with the city and hopefully they'll? You know, educate and teach what the city does, how we do it, how you can participate and that we're not robots just not.

A

Doing your daily activities.

B

But yeah no so this affects everyone, I think yeah, a big piece of it and so yeah you know come out, learn about it. If you speak, another language come talk to us, get in touch with the cape Department Communications. So someone will come to you and maybe you can participate. We have many different ways to go out there and work with the public and we really need your help. Absolutely.

C

I think, like I'm sure I know that one occasion Christina was In. This Very, Yes, In, This Very show like talking about like all the job that we do it like engaging with the neighborhood association and the neighborhood communities. That's a great example of that I think, like also. We have to take it to consideration that when we talk about language accessibility, one aspect of it is like think of new ways to communicate new ways to engage, and it's not only translating materials.

C

It's also making the materials more accessible, more clearer, more precise, more informative towards what people needs and want, and it is a great example of like the curb code side effect you know. So if we are making improvements to accommodate better like those with limited English proficiency. Overall, we will be moving forward towards uh making better communication for the community General more.

B

Quality and more services that reach out to more people.

C

Yes, absolutely so that's that's part of what we're striving to this. That's that's the whole goal of this.

B

What's the name of the uh core um project, the the or you said that the more curved Cuts yeah that um for those of you who don't know it, is the idea that yes, for example, we can have those doors with the buttons to open the door automatically for people who use wheelchairs, for example, and cannot pull the door by themselves with ease how many people who can use their legs perfectly fine and open doors. Perfectly fine have used that button.

C

I mean if you're carrying yours, your Supermarket bags or everything it's more convenient.

B

Hey you know, even if I'm my hands are free and I'm tired, the door just looks very heavy today. I just want to press that button. It opens for me yeah and I. Just made my life a little bit easier. Yeah and I took advantage of something that was made to make someone else's life livable and.

C

So the the the textbook example is when we see on the sidewalks, when we have to redo it, to make you like someone who is in a wheelchair can can go through it and easily can get in and out of the size.

B

C

Go to the crossing that's thing for people in the wheelchair, but ended up being beneficial for everyone, because you have a better sidewalk, more walkable. So it's introducing everyone's benefit. Then that's.

B

C

What we're trying to do here.

B

Yeah um so I want to step back a little bit and ask you know how did all this get started um and you know why is it that it's happening now, yeah.

C

Well, this, this is a great question actually because language accessibility was possible to to to put put effort into this uh thanks in part to the federal funding provided to the arpa funds. You know the American Rescue plan spending that was signed due to the code emergency. Yes, the whole purpose of these funds was was providing a unique opportunity for local governments to make strategic investments in log, live assets, rebuild reserves and enhance like a better community building.

C

So we decided to develop a project called inclusive and accessible government, and the whole idea of this project is to bolster a two-way communication between city government and the community, and these as part of this project, the arpa funds. We have like the alfido community spaces when we want to make sure like places where communities and meetings are happening in neighborhoods, there will be in better conditions. We want to develop the community engagement Academy, the hybrid meetings, so we can have like meetings more easily remotely with City representatives and the communities where they are meeting.

C

So instead of asking everyone, hey come to City Hall and we'll see you, there is like no. No meet you in your neighborhood in the in the park where, in the integration Center.

B

Wherever the community feels safe cyber and it's.

C

Easier mid there and we'll make sure, like the city can reach out. If you want, when you need to yeah and among these three strategies. The fourth one is the language accessibility plan, so we're trying to build up a communication, language accessibility plan for the whole city and it could implies you know, creating materials, training, education, rebuilding, like a trust, do building like a strategic partnership. So we're trying to do as much as we can to reach out to this sector of the community that we cannot have somehow left behind a bit and.

B

C

To correct that.

B

Yes and you are basically in charge of the language section and the whole department, uh those lists that recorded just went over are pieces. That Cape is working overall yeah and you might have heard about it. You might have maybe seen something happening.

B

um It is a work in progress, and you know um I found out this a little less than a year ago, but the way that I worked just didn't work for the gov local government, because I'm like okay, let's find that solution. Let's, let's fix it right now, yeah and then I was like whoa hold up yeah we need to. We need to slow down. We.

C

A

The steps make.

B

The plans make sure we're reaching out to everyone that needs to be reached.

C

B

Everything, so you know it made me realize that yes, Local Government Can Feel slow at times, but the reason is you know we need that quality. We need to make sure, especially now that we know so many people have been left out of the conversation for whatever reason- and you know, systemic racism or implementations, and you know different laws or whatever and it's our job as the new current generation of government employees, we are to take a look at them and start fixing them.

B

So this whole arpa thing is part of that and that's why we're so grateful to have people at Ricardo who has taken on you know the responsibility, a big responsibility, to try and fix this language accessibility issue that we have not had the time or resources until now. To start you know, tackling yeah.

C

And I mean it's: it's a multi, it's a complex work because it implies like uh we have had like uh almost like 20 internal meetings with each department to understand like how they work, what they do. How do they do it.

B

Their necessity, their.

C

Necessities, what are the challenges that they're facing it was many departments were like yeah, we see regularly people come in and they when they don't speak English, they have to bring their kids and yeah. You see like 80 or so like.

B

Like parents, Apartments I.

C

See our public currency, uh water, uh public uh public services or like a development Community. Yes,.

A

B

Development I mean.

C

Our department, who are more public facing they have to engage out with the public and they say quite often, it's like I'm, seeing this 80 year old, doing translation for their parents or, like I'm, using Google Translate, to assist me and see how can I better understand and communicate somehow, and if you have to experience those challenges over time, it's like well, at least they try to help me. But at the same time it's like it can feel discouraging.

B

Yeah like why why the? Why do I need to go through all these extra steps just to pay my water bill, yeah.

C

I mean what for us could be like. Oh I know that I have to do it on the website. For someone who doesn't speak, English and doesn't understand so much about technology, it can be really challenging, so they have to cover the phone they can't. They have to come in person and the whole phone look for assistance. So it's not the same like register for getting your water service. It's not going to be the same.

C

If you have these limitations and exactly that's that's kind of what we have to try to redo and that's what we are striving to. We yeah.

B

Yeah- and you know my parents, when we moved to the United States, it took a while for us like really understand you know different culture, different um regulations, laws, rules, whatever you want to call them and it took us some time to you know, get used to it and then um I move out after graduating and I'm living in my own place and not once did I say. Oh, uh this is what the government in my city is doing like I. Don't care, they just do it for us. It wasn't so moving to Ashley.

B

That I was like oh look, Parks and Recreation isn't local government, but that that's like everything that I knew about local governments and.

C

So if you watch the show the.

B

Show yeah: that's what I think it is, and it's not that far off, but at the same time you know I learned a lot like. Oh, this is how we do things. uh These are the steps that must be taken whatever and I realized wow. It took me 28 years to learn what local government even is yeah and even longer to you know, get into it and understand and be a part of it. So um I feel like a lot of people. Don't have that luxury.

C

I mean it's like: you have to deal with the difference between what does the county dose and what does the city does? What are the specific services that I need and I understand that many people says, like you know: I just want the government to make sure like they're doing their job and I don't want to engage, and that's perfectly fine. That's perfectly fine, but but at the same time it's like yeah.

C

But we are parts of this and we're trying to help to make sure like the quality of life is improving, that the people are getting their needs attended that they feel like they're part of the community. So we're trying to do way more, that you only providing services and that's building up and reaching out that's. So that's so important and.

B

It requires some effort, yeah yeah, that's why we need your help. That's why we need everyone to jump in and tell us and just talk. I.

C

Mean some of the, as you say, talking, is probably the most essential, more important thing. That's why we're working towards some steps like right now we are building uh on a strainer capacity to have like over the phone interpretation. So if you speak Spanish, you speak Chinese. If you speak Russian and you call to the city you probably the person who picks up the phone might not speak the language you speak, but can access and should be able to access an interpreter to assist you with it.

C

If you want to go to the website well, the website now has the capability in all parts to be automatically translated to the language that you might select. So there's like steps that we're taking when we are doing Communications or we're Public public information Nation, we are trying to translate many materials possible, so people can have it in different languages. When we're having an event, uh city, council or a council or a Committee Member, a committee meeting, we should have interpreters there, so people can.

B

um So what are the big challenges? You're facing and I know I I.

C

B

My opinion, one of them, is just money always.

C

Yeah I mean part of the part of the issue is always a no, it's not only money by itself, but it's like. We need money to do some stuff. If we want to build up like capacities. Well, we need like uh an interpretation service. We have to pay for that Protection Services. If we want to build up capacity, then we must hire bilingual staff or we have to train our staff, so they are bilingual or they can assist at the very least.

C

uh If we want to create the specific materials will we have to dedicate more time to translating and designing and printing and distributing so there are many steps that we have to take in order to do so, but at the same time it's not only that we have to take these internal steps and we will- and we are doing so- but also it's like we have to better reach out to the communities that it's happening compared to languages.

C

There are also like not not that much I mean thinking about like strategic Partnerships I'm see here that we have like many analysis of the AB Tech Community College. They had really good training and classes languages for uh for people. So it's like you know.

C

We I will personally love having like a class and a Russian class or a Spanish class for city employees, so they can learn a bit of it and they can better assist the community and at the same time we can work with the community, because uh the community college has some like English classes for people, people who have limited English proficiency. So that's a great way to reach out to people who doesn't speak, English, yeah, yeah and then let them know like doesn't matter that you don't speak it.

C

You can reach out to the government and you can get your services and everything that you need and we will be happy to assist you. That's that's what we try to do and that we will be working to doing well.

B

um Not that long ago, I was just walking, you know going into City, Hall and I see this woman with her family talking about the water bill because um they were housing, a lot of Ukrainian refugees, and that made me start thinking like wow. We are possibly getting refugees coming into whatever homes are able to take them, um but you know if we don't have that access for them.

B

um You know we don't want to isolate anyone, because isolation leads to misunderstanding and leads to a more um fracture community. So what I really hope that comes out of this is no matter how different your needs are and no matter how um far behind you think you are in terms of participating.

B

We need to close that Gap, because everyone should have a chance to speak and it'll just be better for the entire Community. Absolutely.

C

B

Of the few can really benefit the many.

C

Yeah I I, totally agree, I, think, like so many times we are so caught in this made up belief of the American self-made man like you should be able to put on your bootstraps all by yourself with no one's help, and it's like yeah that that generally happened in the movies. You know in real life we need from from everyone. We should be helping each other, because it's nothing wrong that you're doing your best and you're working towards your goals.

C

That's commutable and that's perfect, but not everyone is doing it in the same conditions and for many people it's going to be really complicated to reach out to better conditions of life and to become parts of like uh feel welcome in the community. So that's what we should be striving for. It's like you know we're going to do as much as we can to make sure like everyone feels like welcome, accommodated and have the chance to succeed in their own life. Perfect beautifully said.

B

And it's true: it's true, you know, um you know, I help you and down the line. I might reap the benefits too. Even if I don't see it right away and that's that's the mentality that I've seen so many people at the City have right now, yeah, you know if we make the city safer, if we make education uh more Equitable for everyone, then we're gonna have safer streets and our future. You know children. What I don't know the future of Asheville is going to be better equipped to you know better.

B

Take care of us when we're older I mean I.

C

I measure the the success of a country over civilization, not by The Riches of the few, but the quality of like the most.

A

C

And this is like: oh that's what you'll be striving for make sure, like everyone have like decent conditions, that everyone feels like welcome in their communities, and everyone is striving to I think that's kind of what what it moves us and that's what we're trying to to do. Yes,.

B

So um what are some future steps that we're planning currently and I say we see and I'm? You know on and off part of.

C

This yeah, it's accessibility. You are part of this project, absolutely.

B

So what what's? What are the next steps uh that we can expect.

C

uh Well, we are going to develop, uh communicate a language accessibility, communication plan for the city and a heavily component of this one. It will be reach out to the community. We want to have meetings, we have health, we want to hear their opinions, their needs, their thoughts and suggestions and to let them know that they're part of.

B

It and I just want to stop you real quick, because this is part of something that we've also been talking about, which is um communication input fatigue. You know we hear people hear that all the time we want to hear from you, but then they don't hear back from us after we heard from them, there's no like back and forth communication, and that's something that's another project that our department is working on.

B

It's more internal, it's so that when you hear from Christina Israel or whoever a community meetings- and you tell them your issues for the 20th time, she'll have a way to access that information and you know, keep it save it and the next time someone comes talk to you from the city. Even if it's your first time mentioned in the meeting them you're, not gonna, have to repeat yourself: I want to have a better time accessing the needs and information that neighborhoods require.

B

So going back to you when you're talking about hearing from the community we're talking specifically about the non-english speaking Community. Yes, yes, we're.

C

Absolutely uh I mean we want to hear from everyone, but in this particular case we're also trying to focus on the people who doesn't speak English.

B

Because it's our first effort of reaching.

C

Them out, yes, absolutely absolutely I mean we are encouraging to use the app and we're evaluating to have the app uh available in a different languages. So they can use it to make a report or ask for a service uh We're translating we'll start to translate many documents, so we have them available. So you have to register yourself or ask for something you can do it in your language, uh we're building up capacity to have interpretation services in meetings or over the phone.

C

So if people call or if people walks through one of the city facilities, they know they will be someone to assist them yeah. So they should not should be relying on their 80 years old kid or.

B

C

Phone or in the please understand what I'm trying to tell you with.

B

My science and like.

A

C

With, like the the few things, I learned like doing, and the few phrases I coach watching movies so.

B

C

Exactly I mean it would happen so at this point like we're we're working on that, we we're trying to work with like as many departments as possible, because as I say, different departments have different needs yeah, but overall for the for for the for the average citizen that doesn't matter yeah, they are the yeah.

B

I know you have an issue with water you're going to call Capital Projects.

A

Please solve it: yeah.

B

That and that's part of the whole point you know we want to educate in and I, say, education and that you know people don't like being told that they don't know something and I say that word. You know, I know the connotations but yeah education in the sense of hey. This is something that you don't know and if you knew about it, we all have such a better time um but yeah uh we're running out of time. Thank you. So much for spending time with me again recorder. It's.

C

Happy pleasure happy to be here happy to be back to this cabin too. With this team, it was really really fun great.

B

um Before we go, I do want to have one final mirror to talk about what I just mentioned. um This uh project to better engage with the community is more internal facing we're working on it and the reason is taking so long is because we want to have that quality. You know we don't want to go out to you in community meetings and say: hey tell us one more time, the things that bother you, because you know we get it.

B

You are so sick and tired of telling us- and we hear you, um but it is an issue that we have internally. You know so maybe some someone from planning comes to you and you tell them what you need and they forget to tell us or they tell us, but it doesn't. They don't tell it to the right person we're trying to find a way so that you can talk to anyone in the city and the right person will come to you immediately, or at least you know, maybe not immediately, but really soon better.

B

uh If it's gonna be a better back and forth Communications. So stay tuned be patient with us for trying our best and yeah. That's all the time we have for today on. What's up Asheville I will see you next time be good to each other. Asheville take care.

A

You've been listening to what's up Asheville sponsored by the city of Asheville, in collaboration with wrs 100.7 FM. This program will re-air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12 30.. Thank you for listening.

A