08.24.20 COVID-19 Briefing Live Stream Transcript

The County of Santa Clara
August 24, 2020
Live Stream - Briefing Live stream
10:00am PT

Larry Little: Hi everybody thank you for joining us i'm larry little i'm joined this morning by Zelica Rodriguez from the county's office of immigrant relations and the counties sc scc's census 2020 Nick Kuwada and in just a moment we're going to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on some of our hardest hit communities and plus resources available and we will talk about why it is important to be counted in census 2020 plus we will have an update on fire evacuations resources and COVID-19 testing but first we want to let you know that prior to this segment we did remove our face covering so everyone including our american sign language interpreters can clearly understand and probably communicate the information that we will be sharing this morning thank you both for being here thank you so tell us what has been the impact of COIVD-19 on our immigrant communities

Zelica Rodriguez: it's definitely created a lot of chaos fear confusion i think that people understand the importance of 2020 the census understand the importance of being civically involved and engaged but it really has created more chaos in our community and frankly more more of a community that's isolated

LL: So tell me let's talk about the makeup of the our immigrant community here in santa clara county because there's a misconception that everyone comes from south of the border but that is not the case we have a very large and diverse immigrant community here and many of them are business owners here in the county and they are being affected by COVID-19.

ZR: Sure 60% of our families in santa clara County are immigrants or children of immigrants and so they come from mexico vietnam india tagalog you know the philippines Chinese speaking there's a very diverse immigrant community and I think that we do a disservice when we think about needs being a one-size-fits-all or that there is a blanketed immigrant community that lives here and so we are seeing the disproportionate impact not just immigrants but on the different communities of immigrants that exist here.

LL: share some of the assistance of resources that are available and how your office has has been assisting uh our hardest hit communities.

ZR: There's a lot of organizations that are working collectively to really support basic needs food financial assistance diapers um uh you you name it i mean it runs the gamut i think that the reality is that resources are running short i think that the the disproportionate impact on the immigrant community is is surfacing the inequity in a lot of the way that our systems have operated and a lot of the resources that have been made available and so we are seeing a shortage of resources out there

LL: So nick it seems like just yesterday you came on board to handle census 2020 and now the deadline is approaching so let's talk about that

Nick Kuwada: yeah so uh thanks larry for that i think the most important thing we need to have folks know is that we have a new deadline it is now September need folks to get online get on the phone line as soon as possible and fill out the census without delay

LL: So uh why is it important because I i know we've had pretty good uh participation in the census still about a third have not participated in the census we have one of the best in uh the state of california but it's very important that we reach that third that have not participated and talk about why this is important too with our immigrant communities and the community in general absolutely

NK: Absolutely so uh right now we stand at 74.2 percent uh in the in the county and actually it's one of the most outstanding uh self-response rates we've seen in the state um unfortunately it's it's not enough uh if you do the math that leaves 26 percent of us actually who still have not responded to the census and with every person who isn't counted that's thousands of uh federal dollars not coming to to our individual community funding important social safety net programs as well as our covert relief is actually based on 2010 census data so you know all of this money that that we would be losing out if people don't uh fill out the census today i think the other thing is you know this is also determinative of our represent representation in congress we need people to respond so that we have a voice in a very divided congress in a very divided time and we need the people who listen to us who come from our community to to be heard uh in the warm places

LL: you know we we go ahead.

ZR: I was just gonna add that i think even though we are doing well across the county immigrant communities are still being undercounted we're not filling out our surveys and it is incredibly important as hard as it's been i think in the last couple of months with the citizenship question with just really not a lot of of encouragement in the media right to fill out uh the census and really you know encouraging our community to fill out the Census i think it matters more now than ever immigrants not immigrants just everybody who lives here has to fill out their senses so that we are all also able to draw down resources to be able to then provide for for folks that need the most support right now especially due to the pandemic.

LL: Yeah uh we want to apologize there's uh construction happening right outside of the studio it seems like they plan it when we're going to do the show but um i i want to talk about that that that senses uh the question uh on the census uh about citizenship just talk about that because a lot of people uh although it's it's not on the census yeah a lot of people still feel it is or they feel uh that somehow filling out the Census uh will you know uh have an effect on their status as a citizen here uh in this county.

NK: Right and I think the most important thing larry just like you said is the citizenship question is not on the form it never made it it never made it there the supreme court struck it down so uh first and foremost they will not ask you about your immigration status on that form period they are also not going to share any of that information on that form with anybody it is protected by title 13 which is a law that protects all information collected by the census bureau in fact as the program manager for the office of the census i don't even know where census enumerator census takers will be to go and knock on people's doors because i don't know who's filled out the form and who hasn't so the the information on the form is highly protected if you are concerned you know you can always reach out to one of our agencies we're happy to to walk you through it but uh you know please take heart in the fact that this information is highly protected and and cannot be shared with your landlord code enforcement law enforcement immigration customs enforcement none of those agencies ever get to touch that data.

LL: So there was a public service announcement that david campos did here and one of the comments that was uh on that post it said this is the government's way of spying on us so so speak to that and let people know this is not the case.

NK: That's absolutely not the case the the point of the census again is twofold getting important funding for our most important safety net programs in here here in santa clara county and then to political representation in congress it's so important it's actually in the first couple lines of the constitution so this is a long-standing normal uh part of the way the government is run an essential piece of our democracy because they only take it once every 10 years you know one of the things i like to say about census is as opposed to it being a methodology for people to spy on us which by the way they're probably a lot better ways to spy on us other than the census if anyone's taking the census it's very it's nine very simple questions is you pay your taxes every 10 every year every single year without fail but only once every 10 years do you get your opportunity to say what's my piece what do i get back from my family my my next generation of kids and family members who live in this in this community.
LL: So if the numbers a re undercut on this census we are going to suffer for 10 years

NK: At least at least If not longer.

LL: And especially if we experience growth in that time as well so there will be less funding for a lot of programs that are very important here in the community uh what can communities do to maximize the participation of census 2020.

ZR: In the next couple of weeks i mean the county is taking the fact that there's uh percent of our population that hasn't been counted hasn't filled out their survey and so we also know that the folks that have been under counted has also been our immigrant community and so to that end there will be folks out in your community knocking on doors asking questions these folks are trusted individuals probably your neighbors going out and saying hey fill out your senses do you need support please if you see them in your community feel free to ask them questions if you want more information about what was said here today or any other information that nick shared please stop some of these folks that you're seeing in our communities with with shirts that say census right and say what else can the county do or how can we support you or what other resources are available these are people in your community who really want to make sure that you get counted especially during the pandemic especially during a time when we're dealing with wildfires our safety net is incredibly much more important than it ever was in the in the in this time and so we all need to do our pa rt to make sure that we get counted and really draw down those resource resources for most vulnerable families
NK: And to add to that we should be very clear that right now there are census takers with the federal census bureau out there getting people's information who have not yet filled out the census form there is even the possibility that if you complete the form for quality assurance checks they may even knock on your door to make sure uh that the information was put you know given correctly so uh just to let you know there are a couple folks out there uh in the next couple of days zelicah and i will be working very closely together to get out information through our community-based organization through our website etc to really show you and identify the difference between someone who's affiliated with the county to encourage you to fill out the census form and an actual census enumerator or census taker who works for the federal census bureau who can actually help you walk through the form step by step and get you counted today

LL: So what can people do right now if they have not been counted because of course it's very expensive here and overpriced uh so we have a lot of unconventional living situations here what can people do right now to be counted

NK: Yeah so uh the easiest thing that you can do right now is go to my 2020 census.gov that is the federal census bureau's  website you can fill out your census right away or you can even call to fill it out on on the phone with uh with a census taker at 844-330-2020 they offer multiple language lines as well for more information please go to our website at sccgov.org census and you can find all the information there one thing we didn't discuss is there will be people who speak your language uh and look like you in the community working and talk about that a little bit

NK: Absolutely absolutely so it was very important for us as we began this uh door-to-door engagement uh business engagement as well that we had trusted members of our community um and that's really why we have the office of immigrant relations with us on our team because we want to make sure that these are key identifiable folks in the community that you can know and you can trust and that will be able to communicate with you in the language that you desire but i'll hand it over to zelic to kind of fill in a little more about it

ZR: Yeah and and the people that will be uh coming out into the communities are people who will be tested are folks that will have the protective gear to make sure that they're protecting themselves and you and your family right we're not just saying in a time of covid go out and knock on doors i think the reality has been that the county has done everything to make sure that that families across the county get counted but really this is we are less than 40 days out um and we really want to make sure that everybody's counted and to that and we're doing everything possible so that we're protecting the folks going out um and then we're also protecting your families when we're knocking on your door and so specifically in the east side um we really want to make sure that people get visited one you might you know you'll probably get a flyer so if somebody knocks on your door and you don't answer the door you'll get a flyer giving you some next steps reminding you to fill out the survey but i do encourage you if you see folks walking around in your neighborhood and maybe they're not at your door stop them say hello ask them where they're from see how they can help and i would also say let them know what it is that you need not just necessarily right now during during the census but um we know that there's a lot of needs out there and the county wants to hear from you.

LL: And again when's the deadline

NK: September 30

LL: So we will bring you back to discuss people being counted thank you both for being here thank you all right hey firefighters are still battling fires in and around santa clara county just yesterday officials issued an evacuation order for jackson oaks holiday lakes and thomas gray communities we strongly suggest that you sign up for notifications on alert scc.org again that's alert scc.org that way you can receive the latest information by email text or phone also be aware of your surrounding if it appears to be a dangerous situation do not wait for an alert go ahead and evacuate and then check with authorities later also if you need assistance to meet the requirements of an evacuation you can call 408 762-1635 again that number if you need assistance being evacuated is 408 762 1635 also follow us on social media for the latest information on the evacuation updates COVID-19 as well as resources and of course all of this information will be posted on this segment right after the broadcast of this facebook live we want to let you know that the difference between an evacuation order and an evacuation warning well the evacuation order means that there is an immediate threat to your life and you are required by law to leave your property the evacuation warning means that there is a potential threat and you have just a little bit of time to pack your gear and leave the red cross is recommending that you go ahead and pre-pack a bag containing your medications and waterproof everything and then go to some of the resource centers so they can provide information on getting shelter for you of course we have the american red cross working at some of those evacuation locations also air quality today will be unhealthy so stay inside if you work outside please limit it to outdoor dining but today is not the day to do that but we still want to support our local restaurant so go ahead and order take out and take it home that way you are not exposed to the smoke and of course we want to exercise of course too but don't do it outside today with all of that we are still in a global pandemic COVID-19 is still here in the county and in the u.s just yesterday we had 327 new COVID-19 cases here in the county so again be very careful be safe exercise protocol and the guidelines wear your face coverings wash your hands as well as physical and social distancing we need to continue to work hard to slow the spread and that starts with being tested of course we have testing happening right now at our fairgrounds so be sure to they were not very busy this weekend so be sure to stop by and get tested all right that will do it for this edition of live with the county of santa clara we will be back here on  wednesday i almost forgot what day it is of course facebook live in spanish is on wednesday and friday and we have facebook live in vietnamese on thursdays at have a good day be safe.