Community party aims to overcome language issues

The Biloxi Fire Department is working with a group of community agencies to help break through language barriers that could become an issue in emergency situations.

The department is helping coordinate a free community party on June 24 at the Biloxi Fire Museum, where children can ride fire trucks, homeowners can sign up for free smoke detectors, and free tours of the fire museum will be offered. The event, which will also feature free refreshments, will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, which is at 1046 Howard Ave.

The activities are open to everyone, but especially to Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking residents.

“What we see from time to time is that Vietnamese- and Spanish-speaking residents have trouble communicating with emergency workers,” said Assistant Chief Kirk Noffsinger of the Biloxi Fire Department. “There’s suspicion about our motives in some instances, and, unfortunately, this could become a serious issue when it comes to an emergency or emergency preparedness.

“What we’re hoping to do with this community party is help the flow of communication.”

Co-sponsoring the event will be the Mississippi Coast Interfaith Task Disaster Task Force, Boat People SOS, Hispanic American Coalition, American Red Cross, and the Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Center.

Vietnamese: To read the text of this Bmail in Vietnamese, click here.

Spanish: To read the text of this Bmail in Spanish, click here.

Multilingual fliers: To print fliers about the free community party – in English, Spanish and Vietnamese –
click here.

Biloxi Public Schools gearing up for new year

The Biloxi Public School District is touting its accomplishments and providing registration informtaion in a newsletter sent this week to Biloxi residents.

To see an online version of the eight-page, full-color mailer, click here.

If you’d like free copies to distribute in your business or to out-of-town friends, send a request by clicking here.