Canvassers to Start Knocking on Doors as Part of Community Outreach and 2020 Census Countdown
“With an ongoing pandemic and wildfires, we need every person to be counted in the Census, so we can make sure we are receiving the resources we need to keep our residents safe,” said Cindy Chavez, President of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. “We also know many people are feeling uncertainty and anxious about the Census. Our community outreach workers will answer all questions and connect our residents to the resources they need.”
In the coming days, canvassers will start knocking on doors to ask residents how they have been impacted by the pandemic and the wildfires, and what resources they need. They will also help answer questions on how to complete the census questionnaire before the September 30 deadline.
“We are strongly urging all residents, especially our immigrant communities, to fill out the Census without delay to ensure important federal dollars will be there to help our communities for the next ten years,” said Nick Kuwada, Manager of the County’s 2020 Census Program. “We know this Administration has created a lot of fear, chaos and confusion in their efforts to dissuade our residents from participating in the Census. But we will not let them silence our voices.”
With about one month left before the deadline, roughly 25 percent of Santa Clara County households still have not completed the simple questionnaire to be counted. The County is partnering with community-based organizations, such as Working Partnerships USA, to support canvassing efforts in local neighborhoods, ensuring that canvassers are equipped with protective gear and proper guidance on social distancing when knocking on people’s doors.
Despite repeated attempts by the Trump Administration to spread fear, including a failed attempt to add a citizenship question, the County assures all residents that they can and should be counted, regardless of their legal status.
“Immigrant communities in our area, especially those in the cities of San José and Gilroy, have historically been undercounted and now is more important than ever that we have full representation,” said David Campos, Deputy County Executive for the County of Santa Clara. “This is critical to receiving the federal funds that we need to keep running safety net programs for all residents, regardless of citizenship status. Exercise your right and be counted.” [quote approval needed]
Census responses help to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads, hospitals, and other public services. Results are also used to determine political representation at all levels of government, including the number of seats each state has in Congress.
“We need each other more than ever. It is important that ALL of us get counted to ensure that we draw down the necessary resources to support our safety net – a safety net that we all need in this time of pain and uncertainty,” said Zelica Rodríguez, Manager of the County’s Office of Immigrant Relations. “We all have the right to get counted and must do our part to support our most vulnerable communities.”
County leaders and community partners held a press conference on August 27, 2020. Watch it here.
The 2020 Census questionnaire only takes about 10 minutes to fill out and can be completed through the end of September. It can be completed at my2020census.gov or by a toll-free call to (844) 330-2020. Whether online or via telephone, the census questionnaire is available in multiple languages, including Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Santa Clara County is considered by the U.S. Census Bureau to be the ninth hardest to count county in the United States due to its sizable population of hard-to-count residents, which include children under the age of five, immigrants, and residents in high-density housing. Therefore, the County of Santa Clara government made an unprecedented local investment in ensuring a complete and accurate count in 2020. The County is pursuing aggressive action to reduce the number of non-response households through programmatic, policy, and litigation efforts.
ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, California, making it more populous than 14 states in the U.S. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
Visit the County of Santa Clara at: https://www.sccgov.org
