US Together and Community Partners Host Virtual Census Event
Last week, US Together hosted a virtual event focused on reaching hard-to-count communities in the 2020 Census. Watch the recording of the live-streamed event here! Emceed by our good friend and community leader Ibrahima Sow, the event featured speakers including Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, Reynoldsburg City Councilmember Bhuwan Pyakurel (the first Bhutanese-American elected official in the United States), and our very own Co-Founder and Co-Director, Nadia Kasvin. Additionally, Tatjana Bozhinovski, Site Coordinator at ETSS, hosted a question-and-answer session with Mark Boyd, Partnership Specialist at the US Census Bureau.
Mark was able to expertly answer several important questions about the Census, including:
Why the Census is important, especially to New Americans: “It’s important because it determines our representation in Congress. So if you are not properly counted, you don’t get your fair share of representation in Congress. It also determines how over $675 billion are spent annually on important programs to improve the quality of your community, everything from Medicaid, housing assistance programs, schools, even refugee assistance programs...if you’re undercounted, like New Americans are in most decennial Census, you don’t get your fair share of those funds that help your community.”
Is the information you submit to the Census secure? “Census Bureau employees take that really, really seriously. We’re subject to fines and penalties if we improperly disclose that information.”
Will completing or not completing the Census affect one’s immigration status? “Absolutely not. It will not affect your immigration status or benefits that you may be receiving.”
What about Limited-English-Proficiency respondents? Mark reiterated that Census materials are available in more than 59 languages, and those multilingual resources may be found here.
In addition to the diverse cast of speakers, our virtual event also showcased submissions to our Census Video Contest!
Shami presented a video from The African in the Shona language (spoken in Zimbabwe). Shami reported that the response to the video has been very positive, especially because the video comes from people within the community. The animated video has been translated into numerous other videos as well!
Sudarshan presented a video on behalf of the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio (BCCO). This video was based on extensive research into the “why, when, and how” of the US Census, in part to address some fears among older Bhutanese-Nepali Americans who have “bad memories and trauma” from government abuse in their home country.
Bhim from North Community Counseling Center also addressed the past trauma in Bhutan, and why the US Census is beneficial, not harmful. Bhim’s video focused on the importance of the Census, and Uma explained the process of responding online.
Isaiah, our Communications Specialist at US Together, showed an animated video focused on addressing unusual Census situations (such as college students living out-of-state, nursing homes, long-term visitors, etc.) and where to find the resources to answer questions about those situations on the Census website. We owe a huge thank-you to the talented Nina Dimitrova at US Together for animating the video!
Thank you to Elevate Northland, CRIS, New African Immigrants Commission, Ghana Council Columbus, Emily Locke, and all the other organizations and individuals who were involved in the planning and execution of this important virtual event. As a reminder, counting for the 2020 Census ends September 30, and New Americans are still drastically undercounted. Please share this post, the link to our livestream, and any and all multilingual resources to ensure a complete count.