The story, a collaboration between BCN reporter Victoria Franco and me, is part of “More than Words,” a @report4america initiative that brought together newsrooms covering Latino communities in eight states to examine the impact of language barriers on the social, economic and educational advancement of Latinos and the local efforts to close this gap.

This story looks into how the Latino voice in Stockton is left out due to a lack of interpretation services.

Excerpt from the article:

Griselda Juarez, 50, a resident of Weston Ranch in Stockton, faithfully attends every meeting in hopes of receiving answers about adding more grocery stores to the area
But most days, she goes back home without having voiced her concerns.
Juarez is not a native English speaker, and often there are no translation services available to understand what information is being given and to allow her to ask questions.
“In this last meeting we had with the police, the officer said there wasn’t anyone to interpret, anyone to help us, so I didn’t get anything out of it,” Juarez said in Spanish.
About 45 percent of Stockton’s residents are Latino, with over 40 percent of people in San Joaquin County speaking a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census. Many of those who only speak Spanish, like Juarez, are frustrated that language barriers get in the way of public safety information.