Many Massachusetts residents have already received a letter saying that in the next few days a very important document will be delivered at their mailboxes: the 2010 US Census Form. The Census takes place every 10 years to measure the size of communities and help promote a fair distribution of funds to be allocated for public services, such as education, health, security, transportation and road improvement. The Census also affects how US residents are represented in Congress.
This year, the Portuguese-Speaking Complete Count Committee (PSCCC), a group of key agencies and community leaders, put in place a statewide campaign to educate the community about the importance of responding to the Census and to advocate for a complete count of the population. Now, when householders have their forms in hand, the campaign goes into its final phase—helping community members to answer the Census questionnaire. The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) and other PSCCC member agencies are prepared to help clients to fill out their forms and answer any questions they may have.
“Although there are only ten questions, we know many people in our community will need assistance in order to understand what is being asked,” said Michael DeRamo, MAPS’ Census Coordinator. “They are more than welcome to come to us. We need to make sure that everyone is counted.”
Census forms are written in English, but MAPS and the PSCCC have voided samples in Portuguese to be used as guides. Most of the questions on the form are straightforward, such as the person’s name, gender and address. But two of them may require a little more attention. On Question 8, the Census asks if the person is of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin. The US Government does not consider Portuguese speakers to be Hispanic or Latinos. MAPS and the PSCCC suggest that Portuguese speakers answer that question as “No, not of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.”
Question 9 is about the person’s race or ethnicity. In order to empower our Portuguese speaking communities across the state and beyond, MAPS and PSCCC suggest that they mark only the box that reads “Some other race,” and then print their ethnic origins in the boxes below, whether Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese or another ethnicity.
“Our community urgently needs all of its Portuguese-speaking populations to be counted appropriately in the 2010 Census so that we can be recognized for our true size and contributions to the state, as well as help Massachusetts receive its fair share of federal funds to support medical services for those who cannot afford it, education for our children and other vital services that we all need for many years to come,” said Paulo Pinto, MAPS Executive Director.
“According to US Census data, the Portuguese-speaking community is very small, almost insignificant, because we were either miscounted or not counted at all in the 2000 census. This is something that we can no longer allow to happen.”
MAPS and the PSCCC strongly encourage the population to fill out the forms as soon as they receive them and mail them back to the US Census Bureau right away.
“No one should be afraid to respond to the Census,” DeRamo said. “All the personal information is highly confidential and will not be shared with anyone, under any circumstances.”
For more information about the Census or to schedule an appointment at MAPS with a Portuguese-speaking Census representative to fill out the form, please call (617) 864-7600 or visit www.censo2010.org.
