From :Thousands of people are finding their way to dry blankets and warm socks in shelters all across Texas. Dallas expects to host as many as 10,000 people fleeing Harvey; in Austin, as many as 7,000. Donations keep trickling in.
But there鈥檚 one big need that鈥檚 still out there: multi-lingual volunteers.
Walking into the Delco Center 鈥� one of Austin鈥檚 shelters for Harvey evacuees 鈥� you might remember that Houston was recently dubbed the most diverse city in America. A little less than half the people there speak a language other than English.
Many are bilingual like much the rest of Texas. But not all.
鈥淚 would certainly encourage [people] out there, if they are bilingual or trilingual, to certainly volunteer,鈥� says Geof Sloan of the Red Cross.
Tuesday morning there were no Spanish-speaking volunteers at the shelter. But, Sloan says, one of the evacuees from Freeport rose to the challenge.
鈥淎nything I can do to help, just let me know,鈥� says Maria Villagomez. 鈥淵ou also need a lot of help, and helping each other is a great idea.鈥�
Also at the shelter was Jose Guerrero. Walking around with the family鈥檚 yellow- and-green parrot on his shoulder, he was hard to miss.
At the time, he was on the phone with his sisters. They were still trapped in Richmond, Texas.
Guerrero says leaving Richmond in the middle of a disaster 鈥� and finding answers to his questions when he doesn鈥檛 speak English 鈥� has been tough.
Forty-seven-year-old Guerrero was born in Mexico and has been in the U.S. since he was 15. He鈥檚 been here much longer than he ever was in his home country. He鈥檚 a naturalized American, but he鈥檚 never been able to learn how to speak English.
鈥淚鈥檓 a little mad with myself that I don鈥檛 speak English,鈥� he says in Spanish. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what to tell you. Have I been lazy to learn? I鈥檓 a gardener. Have I worked too much and haven鈥檛 had time to go to school? I just don鈥檛 know.鈥�
Later that day, a bilingual volunteer arrived at the shelter. Maribel Canizales does IT work for the state comptroller鈥檚 office, but took the week off to work for the Red Cross.
Immediately after she arrived, a family of Spanish speakers showed up. The mother asked if there were any showers available and Canizales walked the family to the showers, asking what else they needed: Shampoo? Socks?
The adults were clearly shaken. As Canizales led them through the center, she casually put her arms around the mom.
So what does it means to someone when somebody speaks their language? 鈥淭here鈥檚 a connection 鈥� it makes them feel at home,鈥� Canizales says, crying. 鈥淚 want those people to feel at home, comfortable and welcomed.鈥�
Canizales is originally from Laredo. She gets emotional because, as a child, she was told not to speak Spanish.
鈥淲hen I came to Austin, it was very segregated back in the 70鈥檚,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e were not very welcomed with our language, and so we were encouraged to speak English. And so, I kept up on the side with my native language, Spanish.鈥漈oday, anyone who鈥檚 been keeping up with a language other than English is encouraged to fill out a volunteer application and complete the training for the Red Cross. People who speak languages from India, Europe and Asia are needed too.
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