Victims’ families rely on translators to navigate life after Key Bridge collapse
In the more than two weeks that have passed since the Francis Scott
Key Bridge collapse snatched the lives of six construction workers, the bilingual case managers guiding the victims’ families through the ongoing fallout have spoken to the victims’ immediate and extended families “almost every day,” making themselves available after hours and on days off, according to two employees at the Baltimore-based Esperanza Center.
“We want to make sure that we’re getting all the information correct, that we’re relaying the correct information, that we’re not just collecting one answer and then going from that,” Lupita Espino said. “If we’re not contacting them, they’re contacting us and we’re making sure that we are answering those questions that they have.”
Espino and another bilingual case manager, Mayra Loera, are both Mexican women who count Spanish as their first language and are working with the victims’ families through the Esperanza Center. They answered questions about their work on the phone from a car Thursday so they could run into a home for a visit with one of the victims’ families afterward, taking advantage of rare spare time.
Espino and Loera are just two of the many people that are part of a coordinated response to the Key Bridge collapse which has necessitated bridging a language gap for the primarily Spanishspeaking families most affected by the March 26 tragedy.
All six victims of the
Key Bridge collapse were Latino immigrants, hailing from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Three bodies have been recovered from the Patapsco River and three others have yet to be found among the tangled wreckage.
The Esperanza Center, run by Catholic Charities of Baltimore, is a resource center for immigrants that has operated since 1963, according to its website. The center is working with the Baltimore
City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to provide bilingual case management for the affected families.
Loera said case management involves setting up home visits with the families, filling out financial applications and even just being there with the victims’ loved ones so they can get the personalized emotional and fiscal support they need while grieving an unimaginable loss.
That work can include gathering information on next steps like arranging funeral services, sending recovered bodies back home or bringing family members to the United States for the burials.
Loera said a nonprofit, which she did not name, has been helping families apply for visas, some of which have already been approved.
“We are here for them to make sure that this is a little bit easier. It’s not going to be easy but it helps them at least keep this organization going so that they can receive the aid that they need,” Espino said. “That’s probably one of the most important things as a case manager right now for the situation, is being there for them and hearing them and being their voice.”
Espino and Loera are in contact with family members for all six victims; they’ve also spoken to another construction worker who survived the collapse after being rescued and treated at a hospital. Espino said he is quiet and kind but they are trying not to intrude on his space. Loera said he is receiving medical and mental health care.