By Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.–
2024 marks the 30th anniversary of AGUILAS (Asamblea Gay Unida Impactando Latinos A Superarse), so this year for the San Francisco Bay Times we are highlighting achievements of the longstanding San Francisco-based nonprofit.
Language barriers can cause myriad problems. In healthcare, they may lead to poor patient-provider communications, failure to understand treatments, incorrect diagnoses, inability to complete or translate intake paperwork and online surveys, and much more. In employment, they can prevent an individual from being hired, hurt promotions, lead to miscommunications and decreased productivity, and pose challenges during group collaborations. At the very least, language barriers can result in a person having low self-esteem and a fear of being adversely judged by others. Sometimes language barriers can be subtle, affecting nonnative speakers even when they have a reasonably good grasp of multiple languages.
AGUILAS helps to eliminate such barriers by offering all services in three languages: Spanish, English, and Portuguese. For example, on January 2, 2024, AGUILAS hosted a Community Support Group in Spanish for people living with HIV. On January 16, a similar event was held in Portuguese. Participants gain valuable information and connect with others without having to worry about communication challenges. Through La Academia, participants can also work to improve their overall communication skills.
Surveys show that AGUILAS participants appreciate the provided services. 94.5% of survey respondents in Spanish felt satisfied with the meetings and workshops offered at AGUILAS by rating them very good to excellent. Among Portuguese speaking participants, 96.7% gave similar high ratings for services provided in Portuguese. Among those who responded to the surveys in English, 85.9% rated services as very high to excellent.
AGUILAS is fortunate to have a very capable staff who provide services at a high level of satisfaction to its program participants in three languages—including the second most spoken language in the world, Spanish. (Mandarin Chinese is #1 according to the 26th edition of Ethnologue. English is third, while Portuguese if fifth.)
Eduardo Morales, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus, retired Distinguished Professor, and current adjunct professor at Alliant International University. He is also a licensed psychologist and a founder and current Executive Director of AGUILAS, an award-winning program for Latinx LGBTQ+. Of Puerto Rican decent, he has received numerous distinguished awards and citations, including being named a Fellow of 12 divisions of the American Psychological Association.
Nuestra Voz
Published on January 25, 2024
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