ELA research, as much as possible, is community-driven, participatory, and grows from the ground up — research for and with communities, rather than on communities.
ELA has helped produce a range of community-based programs connecting language, health, food, and culture, particularly in partnership with Indigenous Latin American communities and the New York City Department of Health.
ELA has worked with the NYC Department of Health and community groups to host 20 community conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine with interpretation in 17 different languages of the Americas, Asia, and Africa not well covered elsewhere.
For the past decade, ELA has been working with city agencies, policymakers, researchers and communities to improve access to translation and interpretation services for vulnerable communities who speak smaller languages.