Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 6, 1 June 2020 — Rural Native Hawaiian Populations at a Disadvantage [ARTICLE]

Rural Native Hawaiian Populations at a Disadvantage

' By John Aeto, President of The I Kalaimoku Group I The 2020 Census is underway and the numher of households responding is low. As of May 15, Honolulu County's selfI response rate was 61.7%, Maui | County was 44.1%, Kaua'i County | was 42.3%, Hawai'i County was 1 33.1% and Kalawao County was | 5%. i "The Census sends cards to street I addresses and not PO Boxes, whieh | many in our raral communities uti- | lize and, with the current pandemic, 1 it has highlighted the laek of eoni nectivity for these communities, i not only their own access but the I overall infrastracture," says Sheri | Daniels, executive director of Papa | OlaLōkahi.

w ■ • « ■ ■ ■ B ~ i Most Native Hawaiians live in i raral locations. According to OHA' s I "NativeHawaiianDataBook" whieh | uses 2010 Census data, those popu- | lations are in Waimānalo, O'ahu | (81.3%); Kualapu'u, Moloka'i I (71.9%); Nānākuli, O'ahu (71.5%); I 'Ualapu'e, Moloka'i (70.6%); I Maunaloa, Moloka'i (67.3%) and | Hāna, Maui (65.9%) respectively. | The US Census does not mail to 1 PO Boxes because it would need to i cross-reference a physical residence, i and the system isn't set up to do i that. The US Census also requires | that households have a Census ID | in order to participate, whieh isn't | available until a household is linked 1 to a physical address. The Census' i "Update/Leave" operation is i intended to remedy that by sending

workers out to leave questionnaires on doorsteps. The pandemic delayed the operation, but its goal is to reach every house onee it begins. Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, who represents Hāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Moloka'i, Lāna'i and Kaho'olawe, believes residents want to participate, but rural communities are at a disadvantage. He and his team have been actively promoting the Census by creating Wi-Fi hotspots so residents ean access the internet and passing out instructions on how to complete the Census using an online workaround with a phone number instead of a Census ID, but most find it too complicated and stop. "The federal government is not

taking into consideration the vast number of people who live in rural communities. There are 6,000+ people there (East Maui) and most of them don't have a street address," English says. The response rate in East Maui is currently 8.4%. "Unless you hire someone who knows where the families are, you won't find them. You need loeal knowledge. We're going to be vastly undercounted because someone in the Census Bureau made a decision early on to only mail to residential addresses." The importance of accuracy is undeniable. It affects funding for schools, roads and healthcare. Staying informed and being proactive is the best solution for now. ■

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^United States ® Census 2020