I was thinking on why we do the things we do and why we end up doing them.  Looking back at interpreting; what has moved our field? Why is there a need?  No surprise, for me the answer was migration. Early human migration across continents began 1.8 million years ago. […]

Today I was thinking about the issue of access to services for healing from the devastating impact of intentional acts of violence, such as torture, war trauma and sexual violence.  A friend of mine told me of a community agency that provides therapy for these courageous survivors that is folding […]

I am fascinated by the voices of trauma-informed therapists. Their voices can be gentle and as undulant as a summer stream. I think many trauma-informed therapists use their voice as an instrument of healing because they are so exquisitely sensitive and attuned to the well being of survivors. It has […]

It seems that there is an app for just about everything these days.  One that can help me find a parking spot and another to tell me how many calories I burn. There are translation apps for just about every language.  Recently, I was in the Emergency Room with a […]

Every day, interpreters are responsible for ensuring that someone else’s voice is heard. Community interpreters remove language barriers between service providers and clients. Those clients may be seeking legal aid or a domestic violence shelter, giving a sexual assault victim statement to police, or sharing with their therapist how they […]

VOL’s mission: “Through the provision of quality interpreting, promote the equal access of linguistically diverse survivors of torture, war trauma and sexual violence to services that advance their healing, growth and achievement.” I grew up in Europe after World War II, surrounded by people who suffered from war trauma and […]