Spring is just a couple of months away, and with the milder weather comes the 2010 US Census. Census forms to completely count the US population for the first time in 10 years will begin hitting household mailboxes in late March. To help raise awareness about the importance of a complete count, the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) has launched a special Census education project.
MAPS Communications Coordinator, Renan Leahy, left, helps explain the Census form to Palmira Martina da Silva
With support from the Census Equity Fund—a major funding collaborative led by Access Strategies Fund—as well as Mass. Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office and the US Census Bureau, the private, non-profit agency has already started doing outreach in the large Portuguese-speaking communities of Eastern Massachusetts.
“This really is the most important Census in history for Portuguese speakers,” said Paulo Pinto, MAPS’ Executive Director. “There are more of us in the US than ever before, and we have to show our numbers if we want to be a forceful voice on the issues that most affect our communities.”
To take this message to the streets, MAPS has hired Júnior Catão, a social worker with extensive outreach experience. He has already started visiting businesses, churches, clubs, restaurants, schools and other locations throughout the MAPS service area.
“Our goal in promoting the Census is to ensure that Portuguese speakers know what the Census is, and why it’s so important,” he said. “We also need to attract resources to our communities – more federal money for our roads, hospitals, schools and key services.”
Junior Catao
MAPS, a private, non-profit health and social service agency, is also a founding member of the Portuguese-Speaking Complete Count Committee (PSCCC)—a statewide group formed by Brazilian, Cape Verdean and Portuguese community leaders to help advocate for the 2010 Census in their communities. MAPS’ Census work will support and expand the PSCCC campaign through a series of special ads to be printed in the media and posted on websites; through radio announcements that will soon be going live; and through radio and cable TV show appearances throughout the region, as well as creation and distribution of a variety of printed materials. The campaign emphasizes the importance of a complete count, the confidentiality of the Census process, and how to best complete the form so that Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole speakers are accurately counted.
“Our great hope is that if Portuguese speakers understand the Census, they will feel safe filling out the form, and they’ll respond early,” said Michael DeRamo, Coordinator of the MAPS Census initiative. “To that end, we have partnered with many community organizations and media outlets in order to spread the word: todo mundo conta! (Everyone counts!) You can look for our posters, flyers, and other outreach all around the state from now until the Census is completed in May.”
Sources estimate that there are close to 1 million Portuguese speakers in Massachusetts, although language barriers and other issues have kept many from participating in past Censuses. More information on the PSCCC and the Census is available at www.censo2010.org.