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On April 25, OCA New Jersey Chapter conducted a program which featured speakers from the Census Bureau.  In accordance with OCA National’s Goals of the 2009-2010 year, OCA-NJ encourages all of its members and partners to make every effort to be part of the census activities.   Both Arvind Swarmy and Jonathan Gromer,  spoke about the accuracy of the census directly affecting our nation’s ability to ensure equal representation and equal access to important governmental resources for all Americans.

+ Census data directly affects how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, housing, transportation and much more.

+ Census data also affects where new businesses, nonprofit organizations and other governmental and non-governmental services are likely to set up shop.

+ The Census is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, redistrict state legislatures, and define school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.

+ Participation in the census is mandatory for any population group (regional or ethnic) to maximize the voice of its interests.___

At the end of the census presentation, we  again realized how important it is for all APA ‘s to be counted.    Since 1990, OCA has had a partnership with the Census Bureau.  As a Census Information Center (CIC),  OCA works with the Census Bureau to make census information and data available to underserved communities that may not have access to census data through other means of the data dissemination network.  OCA also actively advocates community participation in the census through its local chapters.

Ellis Island Trip

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19 May 2009

Sarah Smith Nester | OCA Communications Manager

202.223.5500 | ssmith@ocanational. org

President Barack Obama recently proclaimed May as World Hepatitis Month and today, May 19, as World Hepatitis Day. OCA, a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic wellbeing of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), encourages all community members to become educated about this life-threatening health issue.

Hepatitis B, which affects up to 2 million Americans, is a major cause of end-stage liver disease and primary liver cancer. Approximately one out of 10 APAs has hepatitis B, putting them at up to a 1 in 4 risk of death from liver failure or liver cancer. More than half the estimated 1.5 million carriers in the United States are APAs.

May is also Asian Pacific Heritage Month and OCA calls on all community leaders to include discussions and information on prevention and treatment of hepatitis B in their events and communications this month.

“OCA has worked hard to educate the APA community about hepatitis B with health fairs and informational booths and will continue to provide information,” said National President Ken Lee. “Since hepatitis B is such a heightened problem for APAs it is important to increase the visibility of this disease.”

Today, Congress, in partnership with the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), held a briefing to stress the relationship between hepatitis B and cancer. The US Department of Health and Human Services also hosted an event called “The National Fight to Eliminate Hepatitis B” where national and local organizations came together to improve domestic and global actions for reducing chronic hepatitis B in APA communities.