The Pacific Gateway Center launched a multilingual telephone hotline and opened its Wailuku satellite office on Wednesday.
Designated a state Immigrant Resource Center, the Assisting Immigrants Deserving Equity initiative also has been implemented.
The initiative is being sponsored by the state to serve limited-English proficient communities throughout the islands by providing direct access to language interpreters specializing in Chuukese, Marshallese, Ilocano, Tagalog, Spanish and Tongan.
“Through the vision of the Office of Community Services, they recognized a real need by our immigrant, refugee and limited-English proficient community for an Immigrant Resource Center that would be able to more effectively provide immigration services, immigration legal services, social services to this vulnerable population,” said Terrina Wong, Pacific Gateway deputy director of social and immigration services. “It’s really a collaborative initiative with many community partnerships, especially grassroots organizations.”
Pacific Gateway was designated an Immigrant Resource Center in March by the Office of Community Services overseeing the initiative, which serves primarily Maui but also Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. Armed with an arsenal of interpreters that offer translation services in 70 different languages, Wong said that Pacific Gateway has been conducting outreach throughout the state to support the limited-English proficient community.
What they discovered was an underserved community struggling to gain equitable access to reliable sources of information that would guide them toward much needed programs or services.
“There was not enough language access information that was going out, and it was not being translated in key languages for populations that were most directly impacted,” Wong explained.
This issue was further highlighted in the wake of the Maui wildfires, with significant proportions of Lahaina’s population being foreign-born, she added.
The Immigrant Resource Center responded to the wildfires by conducting more targeted outreach among Maui communities. Efforts have already resulted in help for many who have needed replacement documents such as green cards, certificates of naturalization, work permits and more.
Some of the center’s biggest challenges have included managing the number of cases and having available staff to service them, said David Laeha, Pacific Gateway’s interim executive director.
They have also found that training enough staff members to man the newly opened hotline to be a difficult task, as well as setting up the digital platform and proper software that come with it, Wong said.
“We continue to be hiring people locally within the communities that we’re targeting, who have both the bilingual skills, but also the deep connections with the people in the community,” Laeha said.
Since the soft launch of the hotline Sept. 18, the Immigrant Resource Center has made and received more than 600 calls.
Services provided through the resource center have nominal fees, and those who meet certain federal poverty guidelines can receive services without charge. They also provide referral services related to housing, shelter, rent, utilities, cash assistance, health care, mental health assistance, family wellness, legal services, job employment, unemployment insurance, animal services and more.
Those in need of language assistance are encouraged to call the hotline at 808-518-6217. Hotline services are available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To learn more, visit pacificgateway center.org.
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
