Title (3): Lisa Hasegawa, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development



Script:  (voiceover)



Let’s hear now from Lisa Hasegawa, who is the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, as she talks about the importance of the census.



(Lisa Hasegawa – audio)



Everyone uses the census.  And so, community-based organizations across the country – no matter who you are, no matter where you are – should really care about the census because this has to do with the funding for your programs.  It has to do with the understanding that federal agencies and policymakers and Congress . . .  what understanding they have about the needs in our community. And really without the census . . . that is really the only source of data that just aggregates Asian American and Pacific Islander sub-populations – whether you are Bangladesh, or Hmong, or Cambodian, or Native Hawaiian, or Samoan – the census is really the only source of data that the government has about your communities.  And, so it is just really critical and very important.



(voiceover)



Thanks for listening.  And be sure to check back to hear from more of our  Census partners as they talk about why they are supporting this historic event.