Residents with limited English-speaking skills could gain expanded access to state benefits if agencies were required to provide multilingual resources and services, Sen. Sal DiDomenico said as he pleaded with legislative staffers and interns Wednesday to help prioritize what he characterized as urgent proposals designed to alleviate language barriers.
BOSTON Disadvantaged minority groups face misinformation and fear a result of the lack of trust in government in the past four years as an additional obstacles in successfully navigating the coronavirus pandemic, advocates told a virtual hearing of the Legislature’s Health Equity Task Force.
Representatives from different organizations and individuals from the public took turns Monday in presenting from home on Zoom or sent in written testimonies for the hearing, adapting to a new normal that adapted to a new normal brought by the pandemic.
Massachusetts is in Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout, with individuals 75 and older eligible as supply from the federal government allows, but there should be plans in place for individuals who might not have government issued-IDs or their papers in order to still receive a vaccine, said Rep. Tackey Chan, D-Quincy.