HELPING HANDS: Deaf community says interpreter shortage is problem in Lubbock

Most people don’t think twice about going to a doctor’s office or a meeting at work, but for the deaf community, it can be a huge challenge. 

For deaf people, one-on-one meetings like that require an ASL certified interpreter to help them interpret English into American sign language and vice versa. But recently, there’s been a shortage of certified interpreters creating a huge impact within Lubbock’s deaf community. 

“I rely on gestures and most common sense type of thing,” said Monica Bartels, a deaf photographer who works in Lubbock. 

She said thankfully the interpreter shortage doesn’t impact her work, but she needs an interpreter at doctors appointments and parent teacher meetings. 

“This was two or three weeks prior to a parent meeting and there’s no interpreter,” Bartels said. 

Bartels said she is frequently told there’s no interpreter available, even though the office or school tried to find one. The shortage leaves her in the dark about what’s being said and not able to express what she’s thinking. 

“I feel left out. It’s dehumanizing,” she said. 

Deaf children are also feeling the effects of this shortage. 

Veronica Aguirre, mother of a hearing impaired child, said she and her daughter are both deaf and require interpreters. She said her daughter Chloe is 9 years old. 

“She felt it was a big challenge, because there was no interpreter to sub and she can’t hear what’s being said. So she felt lost,” Aguirre said. 

She said Chloe goes to Overton Elementary where LISD focuses their deaf education programs. She said recently when an interpreter is sick, there’s been no one to fill in and interpret for her daughter. 

“The school definitely needs more certified ASL interpreters, that’s definitely what we need,” Aguirre said. 

According to Lubbock Independent School District, they try to retain the best interpreters in Texas but said in a statement that “many choose to work for private agencies who are able to offer flexible hours and pay a higher hourly rate.” The full statement from LISD is at the bottom of this article. 

“It makes me feel down because I’m deaf and I need to have interpreters out in the community,” Aguirre said. “We can’t say there’s just no one.” 

And although there are programs for video remote interpreting, using devices like iPads to call interpreters from other locations, most of the deaf community don’t like to use VRI’s. Deaf people said it can be frustrating to use depending on Wi-Fi connections and even regional differences in ASL or English can create language barriers. 

The shortage of interpreters is affecting all parts of Lubbock. 

Melissa Hays is an interpreter as well as an ASL instructor at Texas Tech. She was the one interpreting for Veronica and Monica in this story. 

Hays said right now the supply of interpreters is low and the demand is higher than ever. She said the problem has left the deaf community in silence. 

“Honestly, I get very upset,” Bartels said. “I don’t know how to explain it, it’s very demoralizing. You feel like you’re set aside.”

Melissa said the problem in Lubbock is a lack of proper education programs, not lack of interest. 

For the state of Texas, certified interpreters need 60 hours of class credit and a bachelor’s degree in interpreting. Right now, there’s only a handful of colleges in the country that offer such a B.A. program. But, Texas Tech is working on creating one for West Texas. 

“Hopefully, we’ll have a degree in place in two years,” Hays said. 

Right now, she said TTU is in the process of approving classes and budget to certify their interpreter B.A. program, hoping to have it done in the next two years. 

“We’re in a perfect place right now. Really all of west Texas doesn’t have an interpreter training program,” Hays said. 

But in the meantime, the deaf community is searching for any helping hands. 

If you want to learn more about ASL and the deaf community in Lubbock, there are ways to take free classes. 

Life/Run Lubbock offers free ASL classes, usually on Wednesday afternoon. 

Click here for more on ASL classes at Texas Tech. 

To learn more about the deaf community, you can attend the Lubbock Deaf Coffee Chat on the first Friday of every month. 

There’s also lots of free online education on the basics of ASL, that can be found on YouTube or other sign language website. 

Here is the full statement from LISD: