LEWISTON — The Neighborhood Housing League has new interpretation equipment that helps groups talk to each other faster.

The equipment can be loaned to nonprofit groups to use, said Shanna Rogers of the league. Ten percent of Lewiston residents don’t speak English as their first language. In parts of the downtown the concentration of immigrant population is 25 percent or higher, Rogers said. “This equipment breaks down barriers at meetings,” she said.

Where there are 20 or more people meeting, some talking more than two different languages, a side-by-side interpretation is cumbersome, she said.

Like the United Nations, people tune into a station and listen to their language through headsets. There is an interpreter for each language.

“Everybody is getting that translation,” Rogers said. Because people understand what’s being said quickly, “they’re more likely to answer or ask a question,” she said. “It allows people to be more involved. It cuts down the meeting time.”

For more information about reserving the equipment, contact Rogers or Meaghaan Tolman at 522-3833. Or email Tolman at [email protected].