Special to the Town Crier
When Blanca Cinco and her staff give presentations to senior citizens, ESL classes, or other organizations, they do it in three languages. The information delivered is important enough that they makes sure their audiences understand.
"What happens if you see someone dumping trash in front of your apartment?" Cinco asks. "Or what if you see someone taking a shopping cart from a super market?"
At a recent program at the Mountain View Senior Center, Cinco outlined city government in action for a non-English-speaking audience. After determining that most of the audience spoke Russian as a first language, she delivered her talk in English, while one of her staff followed in Russian. Supplemented with two presentation boards and handouts in Vietnamese, Spanish and Russian, Cinco ensured that everyone knew what she was saying.
Cinco works for Mountain View's two-year-old pilot Community Outreach Program, which is part of the Community Relations office and reports directly to the city manager. The program's goal is to bring city information to people who don't always have access to it. Cinco and her staff of three go to apartments, churches and schools and "almost anyone who wants us" to talk to people "who don't approach the city," she said.
"We have staff who speak Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese, and we're constantly adding new languages," Cinco said. A former ESL instructor whose native language is Spanish (she also speaks some Chinese), she represents a program that is unique on the Peninsula. With complete funding from the city, the part-time staff is busy partnering with other non-profits, such as Wings over Moffett and A La Carte and Art, to reach as many people as possible.
"We found that it's not only non-English speakers who need to know about city programs," Cinco said. "It's everybody. When we go out to speak we're constantly surprised that so many people don't know about city programs available to everyone, from low-cost housing to Brown Bag concerts - you name it."
Cinco said Outreach telephone lines are constantly busy with calls from people who want to learn more about city services. If the office staff doesn't have the answer to a question, they refer the caller to the appropriate resource.
The Community Outreach Program highlights fundamental city services, with information on the fire and police department, housing, recreation, city offices, library services and the Center for Performing Arts.
Explaining common terms used by the city council, and how citizens can provide input to government, Cinco noted that "government isn't perfect here, but maybe it's a little bit better than somewhere else."
For more information, call 903-6145 or e-mail blanca.cinco@ci.mtnview.ca.us.