New York Counts 2020 is a statewide coalition of 190 partners from across the state. We seek to maximize participation in the 2020 Census. The coalition represents a wide array of issues and industries that include immigrant rights, labor, education, religion, health, government, technology, business, and libraries.
We held a Press Conference on April 1st for the 2020 census. We stood in front of the State Building in downtown Syracuse, NY. We are urging other Community-Based Organizations to join our coalition to help count the hard to reach communities. New York Counts 2020 is asking The State of New York to invest $20 million for a community -based outreach for the 2020 census. Community-based organizations need to assure that the people who are at the most risk of not being counted are indeed counted. Members of the coalition who spoke at the press conference were Fabiola Ortiz from New York Immigration Coalition. Kayla Kelechian from the Worker’s Center of CNY. Scott Kushner, a rep form Liverpool Library spoke about the digital divide. Abdul Saboor, Community Navigator representing InterFaith Works, Office for New Americans and Telia Canion, Member of the Workers’ Center of CNY spoke about why she needs to be counted.
Our newest Workers Center Leader member Telia was able to speak at the press conference. We are very proud of her for her courage to stand up a speak in public for the first time!
Her is her full statement:
My Name is Telia Canion I am a member of the Workers’ Center of Central New York and I’m here today to say that I need to be counted, and my community needs to be counted. The Census is important for me because It will help people. The funding that will be provided to programs that help my community thrive, depends on us being counted correctly.
I am important, I want to be counted. My needs are important, and so are the needs of my community. We need community groups to help educate us about the importance of filling out the census and what we can lose if we don’t fill it out. We need community groups to help us when we have a problem filling out the census, or when we have questions.
But if community organizations don’t have the resources to help communities like mine, who will do the work? Who will help us to be counted? I want to be included in the count, but If my community doesn’t know why it matters, then it won’t be easy to count us. Leaving our voices out is saying we don’t exist and don’t matter.
Our immediate future depends on it. I heard the census will be available online, well what If there are people without internet? Or who don’t speak English?
The Governor is acting as if we don’t matter, and that we don’t count. We need that $40 million to be counted, it is the least they can do to make sure we exist, and programs that help us exist continue to exist. We matter, we count. CNY Counts!
for more information check out: https://www.newyorkcounts2020.org/
https://www.newyorkcounts2020.org/
