Let’s ask the hard question: What happens to language access when we, as a society, step back from prioritizing equity and inclusion? What happens when we shrink our commitment to human rights, to access, to connection? The answer isn’t abstract. It’s being lived. It’s painful. And for many in the Deaf and hard of hearing community—it’s already happening.
Language is more than communication. It’s power. It’s agency. It’s being able to advocate for your child at a doctor’s appointment, understand a legal contract, or participate fully in a classroom. When access to language is stripped away, it creates a domino effect. One that cuts through healthcare, education, employment, justice—and lands squarely on the shoulders of already marginalized communities.
Right now, there’s a dangerous trend sweeping across the country. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are being questioned, minimized, or outright defunded. The result? Communities that rely on these frameworks for visibility, protection, and access are left exposed. And when the foundation of DEI crumbles, language access is one of the first things to fall.
Language Access is a Human Right—Not a Line Item
Let me be blunt: the erosion of language access isn’t a budgeting issue. It’s a values issue.
When schools decide not to provide qualified interpreters because “it’s too expensive,” they’re making a choice to exclude students who use interpreters from their right to a full education. When hospitals don’t have interpreters on staff or fail to use qualified professionals, they’re denying patients who use interpreters the ability to make informed decisions about their health. These aren’t small oversights. They’re systemic failures that communicate a painful message: “You don’t matter enough.”
And that message reverberates. It tells these students, patients, and customers that their independence doesn’t deserve investment. It tells families navigating communication disorders that their needs are optional. It tells us all that equity is negotiable. That’s not just unacceptable—it’s dangerous.
The Real-World Cost of Stepping Back
Let me give you a glimpse of what happens when we remove language access:
- A parent loses custody of their child because no interpreter was present during court proceedings.
- A teenager misses months of academic progress because her IEP team didn’t include sign language support.
- A patient is misdiagnosed because the hospital relied on a family member—rather than a licensed interpreter—to convey symptoms.
These are not hypotheticals. These are stories from our clients. These are lives impacted because systems didn’t show up.
And now, with DEI initiatives under fire and interpreter shortages mounting across the country, these stories are at risk of becoming the norm.
Gateway’s Stand: We’re Not Going Anywhere
At Gateway, we refuse to step back. We’re doubling down.
Our team is scaling up virtual interpreting services to reach clients in every corner of Maryland—rural, urban, and everywhere in between. We’re training the next generation of interpreters to meet Maryland’s 2025 licensing requirements head-on. And we’re advocating relentlessly—for our clients, for our community, and for the right to understand and be understood.
Because let’s be clear: language access isn’t a privilege. It’s a promise.
A promise that no one should have to fight alone to be seen, understood, and involved. A promise that people deserve autonomy over their lives and choices. A promise that communication equity will not be sacrificed for convenience or cost.
We won’t let that promise break on our watch.
A Call to Community
If you’re reading this and you feel discouraged by the direction things are heading, you’re not alone. But the solution doesn’t lie in despair—it lies in collective action.
Support organizations that are doing the work. Educate yourself about the stakes of interpreter access and the broader implications of DEI rollbacks. Speak up when you see exclusion. Advocate for funding, policy, and leadership that centers access, not just for the Deaf and hard of hearing, but for all people navigating language barriers.
The Future is Still Ours to Shape
We’ve seen what happens when society steps back. Now it’s time to step forward. With urgency. With intention. With the full weight of the community behind us.
Because language is life—and access to it should never be up for debate.
By Dave Coyne
If you want to connect to discuss this topic further, please reach out to me at dcoyne@gatewaymaryland.org to schedule a time to meet.
Learn More About Gateway
Gateway connects people to their worlds and aids individuals in their ability to understand and to be understood. Gateway has grown into an organization that serves more than 4,000 children and adults every year, helping them communicate more effectively. With programming both on our Baltimore campus and through community-based programming, we provide education, access, and medical support to anyone who needs it.
We envision a society where everyone can understand and be understood and where everyone is treated with integrity, compassion, and equity.
