History
The Inspiration
Seed funding for Found in Translation was provided by the Kip Tiernan Social Justice Fellowship, an initiative of Rosie's Place in honor of the lifetime work of its founder.
Kip Tiernan, a one-of-a-kind, visionary woman, was a Nobel Prize nominee and a fierce advocate for social justice. She founded Rosie's Place along with dozens of other initiatives and nonprofits. Kip passed away on July 2, 2011 at age 85.
Rosie's Place has created the Kip Tiernan Social Justice Fellowship to gives one woman every year an opportunity to create a program to serve poor and homeless women, and thus carry on the legacy of Kip Tiernan.
Maria Vertkin launched Found in Translation as the 2011 recipient of the fellowship.
Kip Tiernan, a one-of-a-kind, visionary woman, was a Nobel Prize nominee and a fierce advocate for social justice. She founded Rosie's Place along with dozens of other initiatives and nonprofits. Kip passed away on July 2, 2011 at age 85.
Rosie's Place has created the Kip Tiernan Social Justice Fellowship to gives one woman every year an opportunity to create a program to serve poor and homeless women, and thus carry on the legacy of Kip Tiernan.
Maria Vertkin launched Found in Translation as the 2011 recipient of the fellowship.
(Click here to learn more about Kip Tiernan)
The Idea
By making it possible for homeless and low-income women to start a career as professional medical interpreters, Found in Translation creates opportunity at the intersection of two persistent social problems:
At the same time, the medical interpreter workforce is struggling to keep up with the growth of the immigrant population, both in New England and nationwide. The demand is increasing so rapidly that the BLS predicts 42.2% employment opportunity growth for translators and interpreters between now and 2020.
Economic disadvantages prevent many multilingual women from entering this lucrative field, trapping them in a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty and homelessness and depriving the community of the unique skills they could bring into the workforce.
Found in Translation's "barrier-free" program makes it possible for bright, talented, motivated multilingual women with limited financial resources to break into the field of medical interpreting. Transforming obstacles into opportunities, we allow women to achieve economic independence by capitalizing on their language skills, and unleash bilingual talent into the workforce.
- Economic disadvantages faced by minority women
- Racial, ethnic, and linguistic disparities in health care
At the same time, the medical interpreter workforce is struggling to keep up with the growth of the immigrant population, both in New England and nationwide. The demand is increasing so rapidly that the BLS predicts 42.2% employment opportunity growth for translators and interpreters between now and 2020.
Economic disadvantages prevent many multilingual women from entering this lucrative field, trapping them in a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty and homelessness and depriving the community of the unique skills they could bring into the workforce.
Found in Translation's "barrier-free" program makes it possible for bright, talented, motivated multilingual women with limited financial resources to break into the field of medical interpreting. Transforming obstacles into opportunities, we allow women to achieve economic independence by capitalizing on their language skills, and unleash bilingual talent into the workforce.
(Click here to learn more about our impact on women and the community)
