Dr. Carlos Torres, a MassGeneral Hospital for Children pediatrician at MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center, explains the importance of everyone completing the census this year. He reminds all that there are many ways to participate, regardless of immigration status, and in multiple languages. It only takes a few minutes to ensure our communities are represented and receive appropriate federal funding investments. Remember, responses must be received by September 30, 2020.

Dr. Carlos Torres, pediatra del MassGeneral Hospital for Children y de MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center, explica la importancia de que todos completen el censo este año. Les Recuerda a todos que hay muchas formas de participar, independientemente del estado migratorio, y en varios idiomas. Solo se necesitan unos minutos para garantizar que nuestras comunidades estén representadas y reciban las inversiones de fondos federales adecuadas. Recuerde, las respuestas deben recibirse antes del 30 de septiembre de 2020.

 

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Chelsea Leaders and Stakeholders,

 

The last five months have been tough for our city and residents. The 2020 Census is now more important than ever to ensure that we get adequate funding in the coming years to recover from this pandemic. We need your help to make that happen.

 

Most areas of the city currently have a response rate 8-15% lower than the 2010 response rate. We are facing not only an undercount of the city as a whole, but also inequitable representation of the different neighborhoods and communities within the city. We can close the gaps but it is going to take some work.  The deadline for the census is September 30th, 4 weeks from today!

Census Bureau Workers

You may be aware that trained census workers (many are Chelsea residents hired by the Census Bureau) are now knocking on doors of non-respondents. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to reach each of the 5000+ households that have still not responded. Continuing self-response is still critical.

 

Please see the attached posters that let residents know about the census workers and also provide information on how to self-respond. I have distributed these to many of the large residential buildings in the city, but ask for your help in spreading the message as well. I know that most people are cautious of strangers coming to their home these days so in addition to promoting the census, it is also important just to let residents know what is happening to alleviate anxiety.

 

Do your own and help others

We know there are families that have significant concerns about immigration status and the confidentiality of the census and will need lots of encouragement to participate. However, many households just need a little extra help – whether it is finding internet access, accessing the form in their preferred language, reading the questions, or being reminded that everyone is expected to respond. Please encourage your networks, congregations, and members not only to do the census themselves, but also to offer help to others.

 

The image below shows the first options to select to get started with the census online.

Census Assistance Tables

Residents can get help at City Hall during business hours but the Census Bureau will also host bilingual assistance tables outside of City Hall next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Please check facebook.com/CityofChelsea for announcements to share. Also look for the Chelsea Collaborative holding “pop-up” tables around the city.

 

Don’t forget, the census can also be done over the phone. We have palm cards with the phone numbers for 15 different languages. If you would like some to distribute, just send me an email. I tell residents that when they call, there is a long message but just wait until the end and press “0” to do the census.

 

Thank you!

Thank you to Chelsea Public Schools, Chelsea Collaborative, The Neighborhood Developers, Roca, Chelsea Senior Center, Chelsea Housing Authority, and the many others who have helped promote the census over the summer. We continue to share videos and messages on Facebook and are planning another postcard and more radio ads. If you have other ideas on how to encourage a community in Chelsea to participate, please do not hesitate to reach out.