Bilingual Access Line
Hands that speak your language.

Since 1985, the Bilingual Access Line has recognized the community's need for qualified interpreters and translators to assist in the delivery of health care and social services. The Bilingual Access Line is guided by the philosophical belief that it is the responsibility of each agency serving the public to make its services accessible to the entire population. Our program provides, on a fee for service basis, qualified interpreters and translators in approximately 20 primary languages, either on site or over the phone, twenty-four hours a day, and also provides referrals to 90 secondary languages.

A vital service in multi-cultural Hawaii, the Bilingual Access Line serves over 250,000 residents speaking a language other than English; 8,000 newly arrived immigrants each year; and over 3 million foreign visitors annually. Interpreters are often called upon to assist people in some of the most dramatic moments in their lives. BAL makes every effort to ensure that our interpreters are prepared to help families bridge language and cultural gaps with their knowledge and humanity. By helping people to overcome language barriers, the Bilingual Access Line helps strengthen and redefine communities. Communities no longer need to be limited to groups that share a similar language and culture but by the willingness to work towards a larger goal.

In addition to call-in requests for assistance, the Bilingual Access Line currently provides interpretation services to hospitals, hotels, corporations, as well as government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. As we move towards creating a global village through developments in information technology and international business, BAL allows organizations to reach-out to non-English speaking populations and gain feedback from communities that view government and businesses with a different perspective.

The on-staff "primary language" interpreters for the Bilingual Access Line follow a professional code of ethics that places fundamental importance on maintaining accuracy, confidentiality, and neutrality.

As with all Helping Hands Hawai'i programs, the Bilingual Access Line actively promotes volunteerism. For more information on our services, please call 526-9724.

The primary languages covered are:
Cambodian Cantonese French German Ilokano Japanese Korean	Laotian Mandarin Marshallese Portuguese Samoan Spanish Tagalog	Taiwanese Thai Tongan Trucksee Vietnamese Visayan