Las Vegas—This week, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) residents of this city have started receiving US Census Bureau forms that need to be filled out and mailed back before April 1.
To make the process easier for Las Vegas APIs a coalition of businesses and community leaders will set up a festival on Saturday, March 20, aimed at helping these communities with the census exercise.
The Southern Nevada Asian Pacific Coalition for Census 2010 (SNAP-CC) has organized the Census 2010 World Fest where census bureau workers as well as language interpreters will be available to assist anyone who needs help with their form.
"This World Fest is free to the public and will provide an opportunity for all Asian and Pacific Islanders and others to bring their Census forms," SNAP CC said in a statement.
"(They will) receive assistance in filling out their forms so they can mail them back to the Census Bureau right away. This will avoid a visit from Census workers to their homes," it added.
Those who do not send back their completed census forms by April 1 will be personally asked to give their reply via a visit from a Census worker.
SNAP CC’s main goal is to get as many Asian and Pacific Islander residents of Las Vegas to fill out the 2010 census forms. Congressional seats and state funding allocation are given by the federal government based on the number of residents in a particular area.
"Unless we have the real numbers to show, we will not be able to get the representation and amount that we really need from the (federal) government," SNAP CC chair Rozita Lee had said in an earlier interview.
Nevada has the fastest API population in the country. US Census Bureau data showed that as of 2000, the state had the third highest concentration of Pacific Islanders and sixth highest concentration of Asian Americans in the nation.
SNAP-CC is a Complete Count Committee Partner of Census 2010. It is the Asian and Pacific Islander community’s grass root effort to reach out to its own API community. It is funded by Washington-based Asian American Justice Center.
US Census Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg earlier said that one of the biggest challenges the bureau faces is the growing distrust in government of some segments of the population. He cited immigration issues that make most individuals hesitant to give information or answer basic census questions.
To convince individuals that filling out census forms is safe and that data will be confidential, it is partnering with organizations such as SNAP CC.
"We are the trusted voices in our own communities, we are the ones that can reach out to the grassroots level," SNAP CC’s Lee said.
SNAP CC also explains to the API community that the Census Bureau is legally bound by law to not share any information with any other government agency in the US. Thus, filling out the forms is safe and confidential.
Meanwhile, the Census 2010 World Fest that SNAP CC is organizing will also feature all-day multi-cultural entertainment, ethnic foods, Asian crafts,Clark Countyand City agency services, and educational resources. It will be held at 5600 W. Sahara in Las Vegas.
( Published MArch 18, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )
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