TLC’s Humanitarian Project
In the spring of 2021, thousands of unaccompanied minors arrived in Dallas from the southern border and were placed at an emergency influx shelter. Teneo Linguistics Company (TLC) was called to support these children and used its robust hiring and onboarding program to rapidly mobilize more than 200 bilingual individuals to the shelter. The individuals TLC provided were placed in a variety of positions from bilingual youth care workers to certified medical interpreters.
Those representing TLC were able to provide accurate interpreting services as well as comfort to these children until they were released to a sponsor or relative in the U.S. or were transferred to a longer-term federal facility. During tumultuous times, communicating in one’s mother tongue provides a level of comfort that would otherwise be unattainable.
The culture of TLC’s organization, the integrated management approach, the comprehensive training program, and the overall skill level of the TLC team resulted in 100% completion of the translation and interpreting mission at the shelter with no reportable issues and minimal employee turnover (3%).
TLC is experienced in and mindful of the requirements regarding Limited English Proficiency (LEP) speakers and is extremely proud of past work in facilitating communication for this particularly vulnerable population of children.
Staff/Leadership:
TLC began working at the convention center on March 22nd and continued through May 22nd.
During the 2-month period, we hired 209 workers in 8 labor categories, staffed 30,000 man hours, and over 2,600 shifts.
Most of our employees considered the work life-changing and came to work each day grateful for the opportunity.
Customized Employee Education
TLC ensures success with these projects by hiring experienced and highly qualified linguists, providing extensive project-specific training, and closely supervising all employees (particularly, interpreters and staff who work directly with children). TLC’s customized employee education includes:
• Interpreting/translation training, which is especially key in case of rare languages in which qualified interpreters may be fewer in number;
• Trauma-based training to work with children “from hard places” focused on recognizing signs of trauma (such as physical or sexual abuse) and correct handling of a multitude of scenarios;
• Cultural sensitivity training; and
• Ongoing training in all the above areas throughout the duration of our engagement.
