Redwood City – Did you know that one in three San Mateo County residents was born in another country?
If you identify as an immigrant, the County’s Board of Supervisors wants to hear from you.
Today, the County invites immigrants who live in San Mateo Coaunty – plus all who work or go to school here – to take a survey that will help shape services and resources.
“Sitting on the edge of the Pacific Rim, our county is among the most dynamic and most diverse in the United States. Our first-generation immigrants alone could fill Oracle Park more than six times over,” said Don Horsley, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
“It’s vital,” he said, “that we hear from as many as possible to help ensure we are providing the services our immigrant residents and our immigrant workforce deserve and need.”
This is the County’s most ambitious and most comprehensive effort in recent memory to hear about the needs of immigrants – in their own language.
The survey is available online and printed in 12 languages: Spanish, simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tongan and English.
All responses to the 36 questions are anonymous and confidential – no identifying personal information will be asked or needed.
Once the survey closes in four to six weeks, responses will be compiled by the Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University, which also helped to develop questions. Ultimately, survey responses will inform what will be the County’s first Immigrant Inclusion Strategic Plan.
"Having a countywide immigrant integration plan is crucial to guide our work over the years to come."
~ Miriam Yupanqui, Nuestra Casa
The process is being coordinated by the County’s Office of Community Affairs in cooperation with a comprehensive steering committee.
Having a countywide immigrant integration plan is crucial to guide our work over the years to come," said Miriam Yupanqui, a member of the steering committee and executive director of Nuestra Casa, a family-serving nonprofit organization based in East Palo Alto. “I look forward to sharing my ideas and learning from my peers on how we can create a more inclusive community.
In addition to online, surveys will also be available in print at select local public agencies and nonprofit organizations.
In 2020, the County of San Mateo, Office of Community Affairs was awarded a Gateways for Growth grant, a nationwide competitive opportunity for localities to receive research support and technical assistance from New American Economy and Welcoming America to improve immigrant inclusion in our communities.
Summary
The purpose of the Immigrant Inclusion Survey is to gain insight into the needs of our County’s immigrant communities.
- Responses from residents will help create and improve County and community partner programs, policies and more.
- Collecting this information will make sure all communities are represented and the responses will be inclusive.
- All survey responses are anonymous and confidential.
- Learn more about the Immigrant Inclusion Strategic Planning process here Gateways for Growth
- The full link to the survey is https://gse.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_emk2v4niCumV9DE