In San Francisco, this help comes more from local ethnic communities than from the government. Organizations such as the Chinatown Youth Center and Jewish Family and Children's Services apply for grant money and provide services to immigrants. Many Hispanic immigrants to the city seek help at the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in the heart of the Mission district.
The Good Samaritan center teaches "survival" English to help people get by until they can enroll in a regular language class. The center also teaches newcomers about life in San Francisco, such as how to find health care and schools. The center offers support groups that function as extended families. If a client is afraid to go to the hospital, for example, someone from the support group will go with her.
English classes have become a precious commodity in San Francisco, with some people waiting six months to get instruction. In the meantime, they have to survive the best they can, often without a job. Foreign-born Americans who do not speak English well have much higher unemployment rates than those who speak English well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rule is not true for female Hispanics, however. Many Hispanic immigrants live in Spanish-speaking communities where they can get by without learning English.
Government offices try to help non-English speakers, but their bureaucracy is intimidating to the newcomer who wants a driver's license or Social Security number. Immigrants "are afraid that no one will understand them," says Joe C. Buenavista, principal of San Francisco's Newcomer High School.
The most basic problem for the newcomers to America is ______ .

A. paying a bill
B. speaking English
C. getting a job
D. going shopping