Forms for the 2010 Census are appearing in mailboxes all over the metropolitan area and all over the country, and the U.S. Census Bureau – along with countless governmental and community partners – is trying to inform the public of the importance of filling out the forms and returning them.
Last week Cedric Grant, director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in President Obama’s Commerce Department, hosted a roundtable on Census 2010 at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
“The Census is here. Its game time, we have to make a difference,” Grant said.
Grant is part of a national effort by the Census to meet with key community partners and Complete Count Committee members to discuss what’s at stake in the Census.
Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the 2010 Census is attempting to count everyone living in the United States. Census data are used to determine the number of congressional seats by state and how more than $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments are allocated each year.
In particular, the roundtable called attention to core strategies being implemented to reach hard-to-count communities in the region. Roundtable participants, including James H. Buford of the Urban League and two City aldermen, have been engaged in raising Census awareness in the area.
Buford’s organization has been a 2010 Census Partner for more than a year. Buford has worked through his organization to reach the citizens the Urban League serves to educate and motivate them about the vital importance of filling in the 2010 Census questionnaire and mailing it back.
Reggie Williams, director of Community Programs for Saint Louis Integrated Health Network, explained how different health centers made sure they spread the word on Census 2010 in the St. Louis area.
“We’ve had events and informed about Census jobs,” Williams said.
Buford added that bringing back door-to-door information from community activists can show how important a such thing as the Census can be.
“Some people need a boost,” Buford said.
Alderman Samuel L. Moore of the 4th Ward made a similar point with more bite.
“People need to be addressed differently, speaking to people on the ground and learning the power of politics, especially the aldermen,” Moore said.
“Go directly to the source. Stop spending on T-shirts and pens and spend it on people.”
Roundtable participants have been actively engaged in raising Census awareness in the area. Over 1,200 partnerships have been formed.
“A lot is at stake,” Grant said, “and we are engaged, articulate and doing everything effectively to reach out on the importance of Census 2010.”
For more information about the 2010 Census, visit www.census.gov.