Houston Republic

Most immigrants and refugees in Houston can now find pandemic prevention and recovery information with the publication of the COVID-19 Guide to City of Houston Resources for Immigrants and Refugees.

The online multilingual resource was designed to help residents who are at high risk for contracting COVID-19. The City of Houston Department of Neighborhoods said its Office of New Americans and Immigrant Communities (ONAIC), produced the guide in the languages most spoken in Houston, including Arabic, English, French, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese.

“Immigrants and refugees across the City of Houston have been disproportionately hard-hit by COVID-19,” department director TaKasha Francis said in a release. “We want to reach those communities to stress the importance of getting tested, address questions and misinformation about the vaccine, and connect them to direly needed recovery services such as food assistance, help with evictions, and immigration services.”

Immigration status does not matter for many services and are free. Speaking English is not necessary to get help.

In addition to the guide in multiple languages, the city offers key messages, information on vaccines, contact tracing and a nasal self-swab reference guide. After performing a self-swab at a testing site, these hard-to-reach residents can read what to do while waiting for test results. Advice on face coverings, what to do if you are at higher risk for illness and how to protect yourself and others are explained in multiple languages.

“The pandemic has made it difficult to reach these communities at highest risk for contracting COVID-19. One of the challenges we face in reaching immigrants and refugees is the language barrier, for many are non-English speakers,” ONAIC manager Terence O’Neill said.

FAQs cover symptoms, testing, contact tracing and vaccines. Agencies that provide PPE supplies, food, rental assistance, legal guidance and other services are listed.

Non-English speakers and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can get language access help at testing and vaccination sites, including American Sign Language interpretation. Ask an employee at any city facility for assistance.

More COVID-19 news, information on weekly testing sites and updates on vaccine availability can be found online.