Getting an Accurate Count, One Person at a Time
The Florida Immigrant Coalition 2010 Census could help provide the means necessary to helping this community thrive. The organization has recruited more than 60 emerging community leaders to spread the word about the census in a way that is meaningful to the communities it serves.
For more information about FLIC's census work, check out this
Census Poetry Slam!
Black Poetry Theatre & Best Kept Spoken present Words of Wisdom (W.O.W.) Live,
Sant La is helping Florida's Haitian community get counted
Sant La, the Haitian Neighborhood Center in Miami, FL, was established in December 2000 to help stabilize and empower Florida's Haitian community by providing it with the resources necessary to help it thrive. Ten years later, Sant La is working for an accurate census count for the same reasons.
Obstacles to being counted in the Haitian community include reaching low-income areas often isolated by language barriers and a mistrust of government agencies due to fears associated with immigration status. In addition, a lack of familiarity with American institutions and low literacy rates further discourage members of the community from participating in the census.
To combat these problems, Sant La is using its trusted position within the Florida Haitian community and a variety of media outlets to spread awareness of the 2010 Census and integrate it into their existing programs. Through weekly television programs, radio ads and print media publications, Sant La will use this major media campaign to reach everyone in the Haitian community. In the process, the organization hopes to educate its constituents about the benefits of an accurate count and build a trust that will help to empower the Haitian community.
Strength in numbers with the 2010 Census
The National Coalition for Burned Churches and Community and Empowerment was formed in 1997 in response to the church-burning crisis of 1996, when churches all over the South were destroyed by arsonists. Now this group of allies based in Georgia but spread all over the South is coming together for another cause: an accurate count in the 2010 Census.
In keeping with their mission and targeting historically underrepresented populations in communities affected by arson, the organization has many obstacles to overcome. They have found that there is very little interaction between these faith communities and government, making community members reluctant to participate and provide any information in the census. Even recovery aid is often not enough incentive in overcoming these inhibitions.
Being accurately counted and represented in the 2010 Census can mean fair political representation, strengthening a community voice that has historically gone unheard.
With a membership of more than 250 individuals and 15,000 parishioners, the National Coalition for Burned Churches plans to use their extensive network to reach as many people as possible in raising awareness of the 2010 Census. Building trusting relationships between groups affiliated with the census and faith communities is the best way to combat skepticism and encourage participation. The group will work with church leaders to ensure that every member of every congregation is counted, building a network of individuals that can be used for years to come after this census.
Five years later, the Gulf Coast is still rebuilding, and to do that, they need resources. This could come through receiving their fair share of more than $400 billion allocated annually in federal funds from the 2010 Census. However, with residents still displaced from their homes after Hurricane Katrina, getting an accurate count to ensure funding is a huge obstacle to conquer.
In an effort to combat this,