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During his weekly Westchester update, County Executive George Latimer joined with the recently-formed Asian-American Advisory Board (AAAB) to announce the launch of a Community Needs Assessment for the Asian American Pacific Islander population in Westchester County. This survey will help give the AAAB, and through them the County, a better understanding of the challenges and unmet needs of our Asian-American neighbors.
Latimer said: “Westchester is a diverse community made up of many different cultures and ethnicities. It is important that all of us better understand what life is like in this County for each of us so we can better it for all of us. I look forward to working with the Asian-American Advisory Board as we work to implement changes based on the insights we receive.”
The AAAB worked with Dr. Sheila Klatzky, a demographic researcher, consultant and longtime Westchester resident who conducted interviews with AAPI community leaders and organizations, in order to develop the needs assessment survey. Once the survey is complete, Klatzky will deliver a Contextual and Demographic Research Summary, Needs Assessment Analysis Summary and Community Issues Survey Summary.
Co-chair of the AAAB Marjorie Hsu said: “The 2020 census confirmed that AAPI are the fastest growing demographic in Westchester, NY and across North America. At seven percent of the County’s population and growing, we should better understand the needs of our community which has always been challenged by language access across so many diverse countries of origins, ethnicities, cultures. By no means a monolith, we look forward to seeing how we can be more inclusive and useful in the services the County provides all its residents, and in particular the new immigrants who face the largest challenges. We thank County Executive Latimer and his team for making this important work possible.”
The survey is being translated into multiple languages including Bengali, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi and Korean. The AAAB started piloting the English language survey this Summer at the Asian American and the Indian American Heritage Festivals at Kensico Dam. The survey just takes a few minutes to complete, and we encourage all AAPI residents to respond.
According to recent Census data, there are approximately 65,000 Asian residents of Westchester County.