Breaking down communication barriers Hmong summit gets to the heart of frustration between service providers and community members By Monique Balas News-Chronicle Area Hmong residents and local health workers, educators, nutritionists and others met Wednesday at an open forum to discuss how to better understand each other. The event, hosted by the Hmong Association, is the first of its kind in Green Bay and was held in order to meet a grant requirement. But association executive director Karl Thoj said his main goal is to find ways to get Hmong people the services they needs and to eliminate cultural misunderstandings in the workplace. The approximately 60 service providers in attendance were invited to discuss some of the achievements and frustrations they have had in dealing with the Hmong community. Paula Lamberg, director of Fort Howard Family Resources, said she was encouraged by the success of her organization's Even Start program, which offers literacy and citizenship classes to area Hmong and Hispanic residents. She said the program has grown significantly in the five years it has been offered. "The most exciting thing is the number of folks who come in," Lamberg said. But culturally they still face many problems. For the Hmong, Thoj said, even seeking help on their own can be challenging. "In traditional society, there is a village leader who does everything," he said. People go to that person for any type of problem, whether it be medical, political or otherwise. Language represents an ever-present barrier. Many doctors and other professionals have long outgoing voice-mail messages that might even include Web site and e-mail information, said Seng Yang, a community advocate for the Hmong Association. Callers might not understand the options they are presented with in the message. "This often confuses clients who have limited skills and cannot read or write English," Yang said. "There is also confusion because sometimes our clients will call a provider and the receptionist is Hmong but refuses to speak it." Yang said work environments can be challenging for Hmong because cultural differences might lead to misunderstandings between co-workers or between employees and supervisors. "Hmong have difficulty with dissension," Yang said. If an employee has an issue but doesn't immediately address it, "by the time the person finally speaks out he or she is very upset." He suggested having an interpreter present when Hmong employees talk to their bosses and recommended to the audience they should supply their Hmong workers with specific policies on worker conflict to avoid confusion. Thoj said he was pleased with the results of the meeting but emphasized that the community must continue to find ways to identify cultural and communication barriers and figure out how to overcome them. He wants to have a similar meeting next year. "I do believe this is a first step," he said. "The next time we do this, we will probably include a way to improve."