Somali population counted on

Pinpointing the number of Somali immigrants who
have moved to the St. Cloud area has been an
elusive goal.

It has city and Somali leaders eagerly awaiting the
results of the 2010 census for a better answer.

Government officials and those who work to assist
the people who have continued to move to St. Cloud
and the surrounding area in the past decade have
been relying on estimates that most agree are
unreliable.

Estimates of the local Somali population range from
6,000 to 10,000. No one really has a solid number
and government officials and support organizations
say that makes it difficult to plan for jobs, housing,
parks and recreation, English instruction and social
services. The city also has a growing population of
Sudanese and Ethiopian immigrants.

“There is no concrete number for my community.
Nobody can estimate how many are living in St.
Cloud or Central Minnesota,” said Ali Yusuf, who is
the operation coordinator for the Somali Elder
Council, which has an office near downtown.

The census short form does not ask about the
resident’s country of origin, but many believe the
2010 count, along with the American Community
Survey that asks more

specific questions over time, will provide a better
handle on who is here. Among the questions the
longer survey asks are when someone entered the
United States, what country they came from and what
languages are spoken at home.

St. Cloud school district has been able to get a
handle on how many Somali students it has by
tracking the primary languages spoken by its
students.

The lack of solid demographic data has been a
challenge for the city of St. Cloud. Matt Glaesman,
planning director for the city of St. Cloud, said it is
important to know who is living in the community
and where because it helps planning.

“The 2010 census will be the first real look at the
total for our community. I think the others are
projections that I don’t have great confidence in,”
Glaesman said.

To that end, a local census committee put effort into
significant outreach to make sure Somalis filled out
their census forms. Leaders from the Somali
community and support organizations were
included in the “Complete Count” committee that
had discussions about engaging difficult-to-reach
residents.


Yusuf has worked out of his office to spread the
word, including helping people fill out the forms
and going to doors with census counters to
translate or help with whatever else is needed.
Somali immigrants have the legal paperwork to be in
the country and to work in the United States, Yusuf
said. So there should be no fear of deportation that
some immigrants might have.

Yusuf has a bag of trinkets in his office at the Elders
Council on St. Germain Street that he hands out to
bring attention to the census. The poster on the wall
promoting the census is written in Arabic.

At the St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization
in east St. Cloud, staff and volunteers have worked
to make sure Somalis fill out the 10-question
census form that asks for the number of residents in the household.

Efforts have included talking to people about the
importance of filling out the census to sitting down
and filling out the forms for Somalis who don’t
speak English, said Mohamoud I. Mohamed,
executive director of SASSO, which provides support
for Somali refugees.

“I want to help the area receive enough budget to
support the population in here,” Mohamed said.

Gary Loch has developed a relationship with
Somalis through his work with St. Cloud school
district and St. Cloud Technical and Community
College. He said the estimates for the St. Cloud
Somali population create challenges in determining
needs from housing to jobs.

He said the school district has the burden of
dealing with some of the issues that confront the
newcomers from Somalia. The district has more than
700 students who list Somali as their primary
language. Programs for non-English speaking
students continue to grow. The transition of the new
residents is a community issue not just schools, he
said.

“If we have a better handle on how many people are
here, we will be able to get the resources to address
some of these things,” said Loch, diversity
coordinator for SCTCC who used to have the same
position at St. Cloud school district. Loch is also
chairman of the board of directors for the St. Cloud
Somali Elders Council. The board Loch chairs is
helping the Elders Council seek nonprofit status.


The person who directs Lutheran Social Service
employment and housing services for refugees said
the face of St. Cloud has changed dramatically in the
past 10 years.

“I think it will be incredibly insightful when we take
a look and see what those numbers provide.” said
Joel Salzer, who is director of housing, employment
and refugee services for Lutheran Social Service in
Minneapolis. The organization has an office in St.
Cloud that works with Somali immigrants.

Salzer said that while he is eager to see the census
numbers, he cautions that the numbers still won’t
be solid. Immigrants tend to move from community
to community and neighborhood to neighborhood
and can be difficult to reach, even through the
massive efforts of the U.S. Census Bureau. He said
the number will be a snapshot in time using best
efforts and available resources.

“I hope we use it as a community resource. What
does it tell us about what the new face of St. Cloud
has that it didn’t have 10 years ago? It will also tell
us what does it mean to have these new numbers,”
Salzer said.

Source: sctimes.com