Cultural Trainings

In an effort to bridge the communications and cultural gap between Minnesota’s immigrants and non-English speaking populations, and the health and safety personnel who serve them, ECHO has created the following toolkit to better prepare emergency managers, fire fighters, police officers, public health agencies, and others in their work with multicultural communities.
This toolkit provides agencies, departments, and organizations information on the various cultural groups represented in Minnesota to circulate to their staff and personnel. The information presented in the toolkit provides working knowledge and a basic foundation on specific cultures that have made Minnesota their home. Resources are not intended to be an exhaustive representation of a given culture, but aim to provide a strong groundwork for cultural understanding.
Toolkit Contents
Cultural information sheets
The following information sheets contain common cultural norms, values, and traits in the following categories:
• Familial Structure 
• Religion 
• Communication Styles 
• Personnel Space and Social Gestures
• Gender Roles
• Traditional Beliefs on Health and Medicine
Hispanic/Latino Cultural Sheet (link to PDF)
Somali Cultural Sheet (link to PDF)
Hmong Cultural Sheet (link to PDF)
Cultural information sheets are not an exhaustive approach to or complete representation of a culture. 
Maps of LEP (Limited English Proficient) Populations in Minnesota
The following maps contain valuable information on Minnesota’s LEP populations according to language spoken in the home and location of immigrant groups across the state. Data collected with the help of the RAND Corporation’s Special Needs Populations Mapping for Public Health Preparedness tool. 
LEP Households – MN Metro Region (link to PDF)
LEP/Immigrant Population Locations – Statewide Coming Soon! (Link to PDF)

In an effort to bridge the communications and cultural gap between Minnesota’s immigrants and non-English speaking populations, and the health and safety personnel who serve them, ECHO has created the following toolkit to better prepare emergency managers, fire fighters, police officers, public health agencies, and others in their work with multicultural communities.

This toolkit provides agencies, departments, and organizations information on the various cultural groups represented in Minnesota to circulate to their staff and personnel. The information presented in the toolkit provides working knowledge and a basic foundation on specific cultures that have made Minnesota their home. Resources are not intended to be an exhaustive representation of a given culture, but aim to provide a strong groundwork for cultural understanding.

Toolkit Contents

Cultural information sheets: 

 The following information sheets contain common cultural norms, values, and traits in the areas of familial structure, religion, communication styles, personal space, gender roles, and traditional beliefs on health and medicine.

Hispanic Culture - At a Glance (PDF) - UPDATED!

Hmong Culture - At a Glance (PDF)

Somali Culture - At a Glance (PDF) - UPDATED!

Vietnamese Culture - At a Glance (PDF)

Lao Culture - At a Glance (PDF)

Cambodian Culture - At a Glance (PDF)

Karen Culture - At a Glance (PDF) - UPDATED!

Arab Culture - At a Glance (PDF)

Cultural information sheets are not an exhaustive approach to or complete representation of a culture.

 

Emergency Preparedness Resources

"Guidance for Integrating Culturally Diverse Communities into Planning for and Responding to Emergencies: A Toolkit" Recommendatinos of the Natinoal Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity. (PDF) 

"Building Community Resilience to Disasters" A Roadmap to Guide Local Planning by RAND Health. (View briefing PDF or full article PDF.)

 Public Health Workbook to Define, Locate and Reach Special, Vulnerable, and At-Risk Populations in an Emergency by the CDC. (PDF)

 

Maps of LEP (Limited English Proficient) Populations in Minnesota

 The following maps contain valuable information on Minnesota’s LEP populations according to language spoken in the home and location of immigrant groups across the state. Data collected with the help of the RAND Corporation’s Special Needs Populations Mapping for Public Health Preparedness tool.

Mapping America: Every City, Every Block 

LEP Households – MN Metro Region

LEP/Immigrant Population Locations – Statewide Coming Soon! 

The Proof is in the Numbers - Demographic information for Minnesota

 

Artices of Interest

Somali college student bears out census findings: For him, rural Minnesota is home. Read more.