2020 Census: Try to be counted before September 30

By Gavin Newsom / Ethnic Media Services

By participating in the 2020 Census, all Californians can help their communities secure these and other resources before September 30. It's as simple as answering nine easy questions online or by phone.

As we continue to deal with the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism, many of us are thinking about the world we want to live in, and how we can make it better and safer for the next generation. The Census gives us an opportunity to prepare a good foundation for securing the funding communities need to thrive.

The Census is the official count of the population, and it is what every level of government uses to decide funding for our children's schools, childcare programs, nutrition and health resources.

The answers you give today will affect us every day for the next ten years. Whether or not you answer the Census will affect your 6-year-old son or daughter until he or she goes to high school, middle school, high school, or college. high school.

The Census has helped tell our American story since the first survey was taken in 1790. It is a count of everyone living in the United States, regardless of background, immigration status, or nationality. It paints a proud picture of who we are, characterizes political representation, and decides the funding for the foundations of our lives.

By taking the Census, you will help secure billions of dollars in funding for your community, tribal nation and state. You will ensure that you and your neighbors have representation in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. Communities that have more people officially counted have more representation in the legislature and Congress, and have more funding available to help with community needs based on this official count.

The Census gives us the ability to say, "we are here, we matter, and we know what our children and communities deserve".

We are proud that California is the most diverse state in the most diverse democracy in the world. Every community in our golden state is unique and each deserves to be counted. But not every community has been counted as it should be.

Among those most often left out of the count are Native Americans, immigrants, non-English speakers, diverse communities and children. A poor count would disempower our voices and leave us out of decisions that affect us. And it would put our future and funding at risk, resulting in less money for our hospitals, fire departments and schools. For every person left uncounted, California could lose $1,000 per person each year for the next ten years.

It is our mission to include every community in the census count, including those previously left out due to cultural and language barriers, fear, or misinformation. In California, we take the Census as seriously as we take the future of our children. We have made historic investments to ensure that every single person living in California is counted - especially in hard-to-count communities. That includes working with nonprofit and ethnic media partners to ensure we reach every Californian in the language they speak.

You may have already received instructions in the mail on how to fill out the Census form. If not, you can still fill out the form online at my2020census.gov or by phone at 844-330-2020. Help in multiple languages is available by phone. If you received a paper form in the mail, you can fill it out and send it back.

Be sure to count everyone in your household, including children, and do it by September 30.

As you fill out the Census, know that it is secure and confidential. The information collected cannot be shared or used against you in any way. Census data cannot be used for law enforcement purposes or shared with landlords. The Census Bureau will never ask for your Social Security number, financial information or money. And Census 2020 is prohibited from asking questions about your immigration or citizenship status.

Right now, Census teams are going door-to-door to follow up with people who have not responded. They are following all public health guidelines. They are trained to wear a mask and ask Census questions from outside your home. You can tell if the person is an official Census taker by their Census Bureau-issued identification badge and phone number.

Remember, by answering these nine easy questions and ensuring a complete count, you create a brighter future for your community.

As parents, there's nothing we wouldn't do for our sons and daughters. This year, add "take the Census by September 30" to that list.

See the Census website for more information: https://californiacensus.org/

Gavin Newsom is governor of California.

By Jenny Manrique / Ethnic Media Services

When Jovanna López realized that the food received by immigrants, blacks and indigenous people who stood in long lines at food banks in San Antonio, Texas, was expired or rotten, she set herself the task of working to make fresh fruits and vegetables available to these communities. Even more so when the organic markets were overrun by producers who only catered to a bourgeois public, with astronomical prices, who also refused food stamps as payment.

So it was that in 2015, this food promoter co-founded People 's Nite Market, a night market where access to nutritious food replaced the avocados and spoiled salads handed out at food donations. "The situation before COVID-19 was already difficult," Lopez said during a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services. "But when the pandemic started all this poverty and hunger went up and people with disabilities, or without access to transportation to go anywhere, or even with immune problems, had to stop eating."

An 85-year-old neighbor had been feeding herself on bread for weeks because no one could visit her due to social distancing, until Lopez's organization brought her a box of rice and beans. Since early June, thanks to a hard-fought $$600,000 grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), People's Nite Market has been able to feed 150,000 families in the area, including undocumented immigrants, with a weekly delivery of 5,000 boxes of produce such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and rice.

According to Lopez, the San Antonio housing authority decided to cancel the food delivery as soon as COVID started and people were trying to help each other, especially those who were immuno-compromised or under 60, since aid for young people is scarce. "I talked to a lot of activists and we had residents start their own community web to access any resources they might need," he said.

As an urban farmer, Lopez works with Garcia Street Urban Farm, a four-acre farm on the west side of San Antonio that allows people to grow their own food. But this model, while successful, requires an initial investment of $$20,000 that many don't have. "We are fighting for the development department to change its policies on the use of public spaces and for the government to support community organizations so that more families can be farmers," Lopez said.

54 million hungry

San Antonio's situation is a microcosm of a picture that is very pale nationwide. According to the Census Bureau's weekly surveys (analyzed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Hamilton), in the first two weeks of August, about 14 million children were not getting the food they need. This is equivalent to children living in one-sixth of U.S. households and is five times higher than before the pandemic.

And according to the economic model of Feeding America, a nonprofit organization with a national network of more than 200 food banks, 54 million people, including 18 million children, will experience food insecurity by 2020. The figure during the Great Depression of 1929 was 60 million.

"Since mid-March, we've seen food shortages rise across the country," said Ami L. McReynolds, director of equity and programs for Feeding America, an organization that was already assisting 37 million people before COVID, at 60,000 distribution points across the United States.

"The cost of living continues to rise and people are going without food because their income covers the basics of housing, food and transportation. But food expenses are flexible; it's the first thing they cut back on when there are problems with household resources," McReynolds added.

Indigenous, Black and immigrant communities suffer 2.5 times more hunger than white people, and are more affected by unemployment which is already at 11%. These households can cover a maximum of US$400 in emergencies, have less access to transportation to get to food distribution points, and due to discriminatory practices are not homeowners so they live in neighborhoods with less infrastructure and access. Not to mention that they have been the hardest hit by COVID-19.

"There is a 60% increase in our services during the pandemic. Many individuals who are coming to our food centers today have previously been volunteers or donors to the banks. They are some of our newest clients," McReynolds said.

His organization has mutated to new distribution models such as home delivery of groceries and canned goods to reduce contact with people, especially seniors, of whom there are an estimated 5.5 million going hungry. There are also technology applications through which people can order food online at nearby supermarkets to reduce lines at satellite distribution sites. And many banks that work specifically with Latino communities have created partnerships with grassroots organizations to understand cultural food preferences and reduce trust barriers to access.

"We know that fear prevents access to food, it's a concern. We want communities to feel comfortable and safe coming to these centers."

McReynolds says that while they have the support of a network of nearly two million volunteers and even the National Guard to help maintain health protocols dictated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they are still looking for allies.

Federal Grants

Feeding America, for example, provides only one-ninth of what federal programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps) and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) do. But in the new relief packages to address the coronavirus pandemic, resources for these programs are at risk of being cut or underfunded.

"Both Republicans and Democrats want to pass some assistance, but the problem is they want it to be a third of what was passed in the House," said the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the Bread for the World Institute. "Making cuts to programs like SNAP in schools, even while they're closed, is going to be devastating to a lot of people."

Beckmann recalled that this federal assistance is also not available to undocumented people. Even for resident immigrants, the current administration's change to the public charge law makes them reluctant to ask for help for fear of affecting their future immigration regularization process. That's why they urge other measures such as immigration and labor reform because to end hunger "it's not enough to just give people food, but to make people able to earn that food.

The expert said, however, that the absence of the issue at the Democratic and Republican conventions reflects the impact of consultants who have asked politicians not to use the word poverty in the world's richest country. "(Joe) Biden's program would give us a better chance of creating a healthier economy and reducing poverty," Beckmann said of the Democratic candidate's platform. "We can end hunger in eight years if we wanted to," he concluded.