Sometimes the best way to get over a barrier is to find an understanding friend who can give you a boost.

That's been the successful strategy of some advocates for the Chinese-speaking community in helping people surmount the language barrier immigrants often face upon arrival in a new country.

Hawai'i Immigrant Services is a private agency that provides translation and other services to immigrants. The group, through its director Yuk Pang Law, has printed about 2,000 medical emergency cards for Chinese-speaking elders, detailing contacts for primary physician, health insurance details, blood type, medical conditions and other basic data.

Issuing such documents is an admirable initiative by this agency, one that can be easily replicated by other ethnic organizations in Hawai'i. And it's something that private organizations can do more quickly than government agencies.

The Chinese agency (call 536-3883) is offering copies of its card for other groups to use as a model.

Where the state could assist these other groups is by funding grants to cover printing costs, a gesture that lawmakers should take up this session.

Many aspects of the language-access problem for Hawai'i immigrants are not so simple and require a broad, systematic change. For example, the state needs to move ahead with plans for certifying interpreters to work on behalf of immigrants in the court system, where the complexity of the matters under discussion require interpreters with particular skills in both English and foreign languages.

But where there are simple solutions — such as the emergency cards — with a private group willing to step up to the plate and make things happen, our local and state governments should do all they can to lend their support.