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Caribbean Life, July 17-23, 2020 17
Mention you
saw the ad in the
Caribbean Times and
Receive a Special
Making Sense of the Census
By Julie Menin, Director of Discount
NYC Census 2020
By now, hopefully, you’ve
heard that the 2020 Census is
underway that it’s safe and easy
to fill out, and that it will shape
our communities for the next decade.
You may have even heard
that the census determines our
representation in government,
and how hundreds of billions
of dollars are distributed to our
communities. But you might be
thinking, how does that affect
me?
Let’s take a step back and
think about it in the context of a
budget. Recently, the Mayor and
City Council finalized our budget
for fiscal year 2021, sparking
significant conversation about
how and on what our public
dollars are spent. The federal
government’s budget, which is
in the trillions, is much larger
than New York City’s budget,
and we’re going to need every
federal dollar we can get to help
close the gaping holes we have
as a result of insufficient federal
stimulus. That means we cannot
miss out on a single cent of
the $1.5 trillion in federal funds
are allocated to states and cities
across the country based on the
census, which means that if we
want the federal government’s
spending to be based on true
need, hard data -- and focused
on our communities that have
suffered so much -- we must all
participate in the census.
So to make sure everyone understands
just what’s at stake,
let’s talk about what the census
funds and why it matters for
you.
The census determines millions
in funding for Title I, special
education, Head Start, child
care, and more. In 2017, the city
received $700 million in Title 1
funding.
The census helps fund the
Department of Housing Preservation
& Development (HPD),
which administers nearly
40,000 Section 8 vouchers and
helps fund new affordable housing
priorities.
The census helps provide
funding for meals for seniors
either at senior centers or delivered
to their homes, as well as
nutrition education, transportation,
legal, and employment
services for seniors.
The census helps provide the
critical funding they need to
serve you and your neighbors.
The census helps fund antipoverty
and community revitalization
services, including
employment, education, financial
literacy, housing, nutrition,
health services, and countless
other social services.
In sum, if you live in NYC, you
are almost guaranteed to be affected
by the census. And that’s
why it’s so critical that we’re all
counted. Remember, the more of
us are counted, the more funding
we get. So help do your part - get
counted today, spread the word,
and let’s make sure our communities
get the funding that is
rightfully theirs.
“Making Sense of the Census”
is a weekly column from Julie
Menin, Director of NYC Census
2020. Every week we will be publishing
pieces from Julie and guest
authors laying out the facts and
answering tough questions about
this year’s census. Fill out the census
now at my2020census.gov.
Why The
Census
Counts
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/my2020census.gov