When she first moved to North Carolina, Jeri Phillips knew that she wanted a job serving her community. In Alabama, her husband had been a police officer, and Jeri knew the importance of being a 911 operator. In October, Jeri will have worked at Guilford Metro 911 for six years.
Jeri cannot count the number of times a non-English speaker has called 911 needing help but cannot communicate the nature of those needs. Operators can often tell by the caller's tone the severity of the situation; however, they cannot always discern what language the caller is speaking to identify which translator can best assist them.
While it was not uncommon to receive a call from a non-English speaker, in May 2018, her department, along with the greater community of first responders, were faced with the more significant implications of the issue. On that night, a call came in from a panicked individual who could not describe the nature of the emergency. The caller could not answer if it were a medical, police, or fire emergency. The caller could not provide an address. The caller could not tell the operator what language he spoke. Although Guilford Metro 911 was able to detect a general location, the team could not get a specific address. Hearing the fear in the man's voice, the team deployed fire, police, and EMS to the cell phone's location.
When emergency crews arrived, they realized that it was an apartment fire. Although crews arrived within four minutes of receiving the call, five children under eight lost their lives. The loss was devasting to the first responders and the entire community. The devastation left Jeri wondering how could this situation have changed?
The answer came to Jeri when she was sitting in church one Sunday, and there was a call for volunteers willing to read to people in English. She decided to volunteer and to invite her coworker along. When they arrived, they realized that the location was in an area where they receive a high call volume. Through volunteering, they also began to understand that the language barrier issues went well beyond emergency calls.
While volunteering one evening, the participants were learning the word tired. The teacher was acting out tired through pantomime. One participant said that she understood and began to express that she was tired. She then relayed a situation to the teacher where someone was regularly stealing money from her paycheck because they knew that she would not reach out and report the thief. Jeri learned that the woman would not call 911 because she was afraid.
Jeri began to understand that many immigrant and refugee populations are fearful of the police and first responders. Frequently, these people have fled circumstances that make them unknowing of who to trust in the United States. Many of these individuals are only meet emergency personnel when there is a crisis. Jeri understood that the community's needs were twofold. First, they needed to teach non-English speakers to answer three key questions:
- What type of emergency do they have?
- What is their address?
- What language do they speak?
Second, the foreign national community needed to connect with and meet emergency personnel in non-crisis times to understand that first responders are not a threat and that their mission is to serve in times of need.
In 2020, Jeri and her coworker developed an action plan to present to Guilford Metro leadership. They aim to work with the sheriff's department, police department, fire department, and EMT to engage these communities directly. Doing so will help build trust and be an opportunity to teach non-English speakers exactly what information they must be able to say in English when they have to call 911 for an emergency.
Today Jeri is grateful and honored to be recognized by Salute to Heroes. More than anything, though, she is excited about the opportunity to raise awareness about the community's needs.
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