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Ukiah Latino Advocacy Group UVA Tackles Disaster Response in Mendocino County

http://media.kzyx.org/mp3/UVA%20final%20for%2010-1-18.mp3

Vecino means neighbor in Spanish. The latino advocacy group Ukiah Vecinos in Action, or UVA, held a community meeting in Ukiah this month to hear from the latino community about their experiences in the Redwood Valley fires. Though there are bilingual county employees, it was days before any emergency information was available in Spanish.

The first days of a natural disaster are critical, a lack of accurate information about fire location and evacuations can be dangerous for residents and first responders. It isn’t just a language barrier that prevents latinos from receiving resources in an emergency. There are also cultural barriers. UVA has done a lot of work bridging these cultural gaps.

for more information about UVA (Ukiah Vecinos en Accion) check out their facebook page. 

Local News