Census Caravan Crosses East End Urging Residents To Be Counted

EAST END, NY — It takes less than 10 minutes to fill out the 2020 Census, but those 10 minutes can change the course of the next 10 years. That sentiment was echoed by community and immigrant rights' organizations, as well as elected officials, who joined in a "Census 2020 Caravan" across the East End Thursday to raise awareness and urge residents to stand up and be counted.

But the clock is ticking: With less than two weeks left until the September 30 deadline to complete the census, the time is now, all agreed.

To that end, advocates hit the road, literally, to promote census participation on both the North and South Forks in a final, all-out push for participation. According to organizers, the large coalition of community and immigrant right's organizations carried an urgent message across the North and South Forks of Long Island: "Time is running out!"

The caravans departed from locations on both the North and South Forks, with a rally at the county center. Young and old echoed the same urgent message: "Fill out the census."

Tia Fulford, founder of the Butterfly Effect Project, said she was excited to be a part of something great, that will "give us the opportunity to flourish as a community for the next 10 years."

Ludmilla Molliana of SEPA Mujer introduced the speakers, who addressed the crowd in English and Spanish.

Those speakers included SEPA Mujer youth member Melissa Barreto of Hampton Bays. Barreto said during the summer, SEPA Mujer census teams visited 30 towns and 164 places on the East End, reaching about 15,000 people. "With all of our efforts, today's census self-response rates of towns on the East End have slowly risen — however, being at 30 to 40 percent is still not enough. Because the East End is one of the regions with the lowest response rates in New York," she said.

It is critical to complete the census, she said. "We only have one chance to get this right," she said.

Federal funding levels cannot be changed again until 2030. "And in the middle of this public health crisis, we need to do everything we can to secure the dollars for our region. Ten minutes will affect the next 10 years. Be counted and be seen," she said.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said, of the 2020 Census: "It is impossible for us to overestimate the importance of the work that you are doing in getting this message out, particularly in these final couple of weeks. We all know very well, because we are immersed in it, the impact of undercounting, the impact on services and congressional representation. What we have all experienced here over the last six months just drives home the critical importance of what you are doing."

With residents still reeling from the coronavirus, services are critically needed for individuals to recover, Bellone said. "If we are undercounted, those critical services that people need to recover will be diminished."

New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele said it's important that every resident on the East End be counted. He thanked the East End Census Coalition for organizing the rally. "The U.S. Census is a national survey conducted every 10 years as required by the U.S. Constitution," he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the national survey to count every person in the United States, including all ages, races and ethnic groups, as well as citizens and non-citizens. "All persons need to be counted," he said.

And, Thiele said: "The census is so much more than just a head count. The results will impact our communities for the next 10 years." The census count, he said, will help to determine the number of seats the state will have in Washington, in the House of Representatives, and also to provide data to draw new district lines for state and local government offices, as well."

The data also determines the distribution of federal funds to the state, funds that are used to support programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, schools, hospitals, roads, transportation, housing and more, he said.

"Census data is used for important planning purposes, so we know where to build more roads," Thiele said. "And schools, when populations are growing. These programs touch all East End residents in some way and we are all affected if we do not have a complete count. Every person not counted in New York means less funding for the services we need, use, and rely on daily," Thiele said.

The East End, he added, continues to lag behind the rest of Long Island and the state. "These next 13 days are critical to ensure we raise our numbers. We need your help," Thiele said.

It's important to remember, Thiele said, that the 2020 census is completely confidential. "The data collected is used only for statistical purposes. Information cannot be used to track people, determine eligibility for government benefits or be shared with immigration or law enforcement. Notably, there isn't a citizenship question on the census. We had to fight very hard and go to court to make sure that that happened," he said.

He added: "The stakes are high. Let's do everything in our power to ensure New York receives every federal dollar it's entitled to. "

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming sent a statement: "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of September 13, New York’s self-response rate of 62.5% is below the national average self-response rate of 65%. Of New York’s 62 counties, Suffolk ranks 12th with a self-response rate of 66.7%. Our neighbors in Nassau hold the number one spot in self-response rates with a rate of 73.2%. We in Suffolk can and must catch up. The 10 to 15 minutes it takes to fill out the census will impact the next 10 years of resource allocation."

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said some might feel they don't have time to respond, or that the census does not matter. "It does matter," she said. "You do count. When your voice is heard, you help not only your family, you help the entire community."

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he watched the Suffolk County Transit bus take off and said the crowd was steps from Hudson River Health Care. "These things don't happen by accident. They're there because we get support, money from the federal and state government to have these critical needs met," he said. "The amount of money we get for these important things depends on our population and if we don't know what our population is, we get underfunded."

For example, the population on the East End has almost doubled since the last census due to the pandemic, Schneiderman said — but based on the number who have responded to the census, it appears to be less than 10 years ago.

"There are not a lot of things you can do in 10 minutes that can change your life. The census is one of those things," Schneiderman said.

Southold Town Spervisor Scott Russell said it was so important to have an accurate snapshot of each community that the census was required in the U.S. Constitution. "This isn't just a document that's tallied once every 10 years. We rely on it each and every day to make decisions. It's about making sure you get your proportionate, fair share of elected representation on all levels of government and your fair share of resources."

Lars Clemensen, superintendent of the Hampton Bays School District, said every child matters and the 15,000 East End students will get their fair share only if the census is completed.

Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate said there is an urgent call to action. "Now is the time to act and today is the time to do it," she said.

Azheria Allen, head junior volunteer of the Butterfly Effect Project said as "a young African American woman I can truly say Generation Z is on the cusp of greatness.We are entering into the next chapter of our live with our eyes wide open; however, we need your help. Everything is on the line here. We need to be sure that we are all counted because we do, right?"

The census is important to young people today, and to "those coming behind us, so that they have a fair chance to broaden their horizons," she said. "Count like their life depends on it, because it does."

Besides getting the word out and creating awareness, caravan riders demanded that elected officials on the East End — some of whom are running for re-election — respect and reach out to all of their constituents to make sure they are counted, organizers said.

"The East End has one of the lowest census response rates in New York State," said Martha Maffei, executive director of SEPA Mujer, one of several organizations that have been working for months to increase awareness of the census on eastern Long Island, particularly in immigrant communities.

Maffei and other organizers said they want the East End's elected representatives to do more in the short time remaining to promote the census.

"While we appreciate that some town governments have shown some support, we would like to see all East End elected officials really speaking out regularly about the importance of census participation for the people they represent," Maffei said.

And, organizers added, the situation on the East End "is particularly bad," with a map from the United States Census Bureau reflecting "severely low participation" on the North and South Forks.
"This situation should unify everyone, of every political party," organizers said. "If everyone in a community is counted, the entire community does better. The East End's resort and semi-rural character contribute to the low numbers, with many homeowners not occupying their homes year-round and not filling out the census form."

Immigrants, in particular, are often excluded from the count, organizers said. While many immigrant residents understand the importance of the census and have already filled out the form, some may be reluctant to participate because they do not understand how important — and essential — it is to fill out the census; they may also fear that participating could lead to harassment, or worse, from federal immigration enforcement, organizers said.

Sandra Dunn, associate director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, added: "For months many organizations have been publicly emphasizing the safety and confidentiality of the process. We've stressed that all Census Bureau employees are forbidden by law to share the information on the questionnaire with any other government agency and that the information is used solely to create statistics. We would like to see local officials sending this same message loud and clear—through bilingual PSAs and robocalls. Time is of the essence."

Dunn said she was happy on Thursday to see so many elected officials taking the time to stress how crucial it is to be included in the census.

Stony Brook University Professor Carolyn Peabody, who is also co-chair of the North Fork Unity Action Committee and co-coordinator of Indigenous Suffolk Counts, agreed that time was of the essence. "There are potentially dire consequences should the rates of census undercounting on the East End remain so terribly low by the end of the census count on September 30."

In addition to losing adequate political representation, if the census numbers do not accurately reflect the population, the East End will receive far less funding than needed for essential services including schools, hospitals, college aid, school lunches, and road repairs.

Sister Mary Beth Moore, Director, Centro Corazon de María, added: "We are urging all to respond to the census, because it is a doable, easy thing to do that will benefit our community for the next 10 years. Every family can do this, regardless of their status; the census bureau is obligated by law to protect your information. Don't give up your shot."

To take the census, click here.