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Home Publications “Can you send someone who speaks my language?” Language
barriers among older adults living in Toronto’s social housing

Sep 12, 2022Seong-gee Um, Christine Sheppard, Brenda Roche, Sarah Gould, Andrea
Austen, Sander L. Hitzig




“CAN YOU SEND SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS MY LANGUAGE?” LANGUAGE BARRIERS AMONG OLDER
ADULTS LIVING IN TORONTO’S SOCIAL HOUSING



This report focuses on older adult tenants with limited English proficiency who
live in Toronto’s social housing. Many expressed challenges understanding
tenant-related documents and announcements as they were often communicated in
English. This made it difficult for tenants to engage with housing staff and
participate in their community.

For older tenants with limited English proficiency to live with dignity and
comfort in their homes, this report offers five recommendations for housing
providers:

 1. Record the languages of all older tenants and track preferred language of
    communication—as well as English proficiency levels.
 2. Improve language-access. This can include offering interpretation and/or
    translation services at community events.
 3. Ensure that staff are trained on how to access and use available
    translation/interpretation services.
 4. Proactively share information with tenants in languages they understand.
    This includes information related to housing (e.g., leasing documents,
    tenant handbook, annual rent reviews, building notices) as well as
    information on community agencies that offer services in diverse languages.
 5. Foster tenant empowerment and ensure that tenants with limited English
    proficiency have opportunities to participate in and shape their community.

Download Language-barriers-among-older-adults-living-in-Torontos-social-housing

Categories: Housing, Immigrant and newcomer health Tags: language barriers,
language barriers in social housing, older adults Project: Access to Language
Interpretation in Healthcare Publication Type: Research Paper

SEONG-GEE UM

Seong-gee Um is a researcher at the Wellesley Institute. She received her PhD
from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto
and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Prentice Institute for Global
Population and Economy at the University of Lethbridge. Her research interests
lie in the areas of inequality, immigration, and health and social care. Her
work explores social policy responses to emerging social risks and how they
shape the experiences of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. SeonggeeUm

CHRISTINE SHEPPARD

Dr. Christine Sheppard received her Master’s in Social Work from the University
of Toronto, specializing in gerontology, and holds a PhD in Health Studies and
Gerontology (with a focus on aging, health and well-being). Prior to starting at
Wellesley Institute, she was a CIHR-funded post-doctoral fellow Sunnybrook
Research Institute specializing in knowledge translation in urban housing and
health. Sheppard_CL

BRENDA ROCHE

Brenda Roche is Director of Research at the Wellesley Institute. She was a
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Anthropology and Health at the Gender, Violence
and Health Centre of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She
comes with academic and community-based research experience exploring social and
health issues in urban settings, including homelessness, sexual health, violence
and psychological trauma and distress. Her doctorate, through the London School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined discourses on trauma that operate
within the context of refugee resettlement, and how these influence health and
social care practices for women (and their families) seeking political asylum in
the United Kingdom. Brenroche


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL LAND

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For
thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the
Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still
the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful
to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of
Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.


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