SEATTLE—
In a matter of days, you'll be getting your U.S. Census form in the mail. So why are so many Census officials worried you won't turn that form in?A recent census study shows about 64% of us are likely to mail in our forms without a census worker knocking at the door. That might not sound bad, but that's down from 67% ten years ago, perhaps due to government mistrust or concerns about identity theft. Census workers and local advocacy groups are out to change this trend. They say being counted is a matter of economic survival.
If you think the census is confusing, ask someone who just got to this country. Evelyn Castro, a recent immigrant, tells us, "I'm not so aware of the census. I'm new here. We just came last July." Evelyn's one of thousands in an often uninformed elderly Asian population, one of the fastest growing groups in Seattle. Language barriers, and a general fear of anything dealing with the government, might leave many people in this community uncounted.
Derek Wing of the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging says, "Being counted equals money for the community." That's a new message you may not have heard ten years ago, but now, it's a key point for Wing and other advocates. Every person counted translates into $1,400 worth of federal funding that goes towards the services more and more of this aging population needs. Wing is urging everyone in saying, "Have a say in your own community's future. By being counted you're helping out your own people to get the money they need for the services that are needed."
Sluggo Rigor prints the Filipino-American Bulletin in Seattle, and he says many ethnic minorities fear they'll be deported for filling out the census. Rigor says, "When they see or hear anything about federal government, they shy away." Officials say the answers to the ten questions on the census are confidential, and won't be used for anything but a national head count. The count is expected to show our country's minority population is booming, which Rigor says should be a matter of pride. He adds, "That is what freedom and liberty is all about, and I guess the census is right at the center of translating that into the quality of life we all want to happen."
For more information about the census, and the questions you'll see on it, please follow this link. For more information on the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, click here.
