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As more activities move to online platforms in a post-COVID-19 world, people facing technology barriers are at risk of being left behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the primary motivation for a recent event meant to create awareness about filling out the census within San Francisco\u2019s hard-to-count Latino communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local staff of the U.S. Census Bureau partnered with SF Rising and the San Francisco Latino Parity and Equity Coalition (SFLPEC)\u2014a group of more than 20 Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations based in San Francisco\u2014to organize a census caravan as a way to bring their message directly to the streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SFLPEC, along with other community organizations, have received grants from the City to get the word out amongst its hard-to-count communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coalition had to modify their original idea to \u201cthrow a fiesta…and get everybody counted and spread the word, boca a boca, hand to hand,\u201d said Jaime Arag\u00f3n, Services Coordination Manager for Good Samaritan, and SFLPEC co-chair. \u201cThat\u2019s not possible now, so we were like, \u2018Well, what can we do to keep the census on people\u2019s minds?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On June 26, members of various local organizations met outside La Raza Park, exchanging census posters and painter\u2019s tape to decorate their vehicles with messages about the importance of filling out the census. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDemocracy and participation should be fun,\u201d said Miriam Medell\u00edn-Myers, Civic Engagement Coordinator with SF Rising. \u201cI hope it draws attention and creates some momentum around filling the census and makes it less of a scary thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group mapped a strategic route through the streets of the Mission and Excelsior Districts, where some of the hardest-to-count Latino populations in San Francisco can be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the group of 10 vehicles started on their route, they honked to get attention from pedestrians, sharing messages primarily in Spanish through a bullhorn; \u201c\u00a1Todos debemos completar el censo, para obtener ayuda y recursos para nuestras comunidades!\u201d (\u201cWe must all fill out the census, to get help and resources for our communities!\u201d). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the vehicles stopped at a red light, drivers would hand out pamphlets with information from their car windows to passersby. As they made their way along 24th Street, then Mission Street all the way to the Excelsior, pedestrians would look up from their phones and smile at the caravan, waving in support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many factors that contribute to the undercounting of Latinos and other communities of color in San Francisco. For undocumented communities, many of whom fear any kind of tracking from government agencies, filling out the census can feel dangerous, and many don\u2019t know that the census doesn\u2019t ask questions about citizenship or immigration status. Some newly arrived immigrants don\u2019t know the census is meant to count them too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, gentrification and displacement have forced many families to live in crowded housing or untraditional living arrangements, like garages and basements. These tenants are often not counted as part of the household. Others forget to count newborns or don\u2019t know that minors should be counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor every person that we miss in the count, we don\u2019t get a chunk of federal funding,\u201d said Bret Putnam, partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau based in San Francisco. \u201cIt\u2019s very important for communities to get the funding that they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eric Cuentos directs the Parent Partner Program at Mission Graduates, where he works primarily with Latino families helping parents stay involved in their children\u2019s academic life. For Cuentos, who led the caravan with his bullhorn, the impact of undercounting communities is clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt directly affects both Mission Graduates as an organization that gets public funds to support them, but most importantly, it affects the families themselves,\u201d said Cuentos. \u201cEverything from free and reduced lunch to healthcare options…they have less resources at their disposal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hopes to use his position at Mission Graduates to raise awareness about the census as a way for the families he works with \u201cto be able to speak for and advocate on the decisions that impact their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As local COVID-19 testing studies have recently shown, working-class Latinos in San Francisco are disproportionately impacted by the virus. This is especially true for families in crowded living situations and essential workers unable to work from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Latino population is one of the most impacted and has the highest rate of contracting it,\u201d said Medell\u00edn Myers. \u201cIf we don\u2019t know who lives in a certain place, how do we get the funding to these communities?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fighting for equitable funding and not funding militarization, and funding healthcare, and schools, and social services,\u201d Myers continued. \u201cTaking the census determines how much funding we get, and then the next fight is how we spend it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original deadline to fill out the census has been extended, from July 31 to October 31, due to the disruption to daily life caused by the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe census is the last thing on people\u2019s minds, especially if you can\u2019t feed yourself or if you\u2019ve lost your job,\u201d said Arag\u00f3n. \u201cBut it is so vital for the upcoming years…we are facing budget cuts … to our most vulnerable communities and if we don\u2019t get counted, it\u2019s just going to compound that need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putnam added, \u201cI think just in general it\u2019s good to stand up and be seen and say \u2018I\u2019m here, I\u2019m important, I deserve to be counted.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Filling out the census is easy, it takes about 10 minutes and there are no citizenship or immigration related questions. All residents should complete the census regardless of their immigration status. To complete the census online, visit https:\/\/2020census.gov\/ <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To complete the census in Spanish visit https:\/\/2020census.gov\/es.html <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To complete the census by phone, call 844-330-2020. To complete the census by phone in Spanish, call 844-468-2020.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As more activities move to online platforms in a post-COVID-19 world, people facing technology barriers are at risk of being left behind. This was the primary motivation for a recent event meant to create awareness about filling out the census within San Francisco\u2019s hard-to-count Latino communities. Local staff of the U.S. Census Bureau partnered with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":44852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18445],"class_list":["post-44843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post_format-post-format-gallery","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n