Posted on September 9, 2020

The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that it would be ending field data collection as well as self-response options on September 30, effectively ending 2020 Census data collection one month earlier than planned. In the Karsh Center’s home of Koreatown, this means one month less of critical efforts to make sure that one of the hardest to count neighborhoods in the country is represented in the national tally of our population.

According to the LA City Census initiative, the results of the census “will determine not only our representation in Congress, but how over $115 billion is spent every year on California schools, healthcare, housing, transportation, and other vital programs in our neighborhoods.” This includes things like Headstart education, food and nutrition programs like SNAP, and other crucial programs that our community at the Karsh Center rely upon for their families’ health and wellbeing.

The Karsh Center, which prior to the pandemic was slated to be a community kiosk site where neighbors could go to fill out their census and/or receive help understanding the process, has pivoted resources of staff and volunteer time to reach out to our community and make the most of the shortened remaining time.

Prior to COVID-19, volunteers Laurie and Jill were preparing trainings to help the Karsh Center host the community as a Census kiosk site.

To help our community get across the Census 2020 finish line with as much representation as possible, the Karsh Center is using September to do a final census push via remote outreach and sharing resources at in-person activities such as our Sunday Food Pantry. As part of this effort, trained staff and volunteers are doing outreach to members of our community who have accessed services at the Karsh Center to explain the importance of the census, answer questions that individuals may have, and help clients fill out the census online.

So far, the Karsh Center has connected with more than 130 client families, with a mixed response — many client families are fearful about completing the census, and sharing so much personal information with the government. Our client families are not alone in this concern. Legal protections around confidentiality of census data have been strengthened, and according to census.gov, “the Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about individuals, households, or businesses, even to law enforcement agencies…All Census Bureau staff take a lifetime oath to protect your personal information, and any violation comes with a penalty of up to $250,000 and/or up to 5 years in prison.”

Despite feeling vulnerable, many of the families we serve have still opted to complete the census, knowing how important representation and an accurate count is for the future of our community.

Community members picking up WBT Religious School’s Purim with a Purpose Back-to-School bags, full of school supplies for the fall.

Thanks to the efforts of WBT Religious School students, who prepared Back to School bags as part of their Purim with a Purpose celebration, and Brawerman Elementary School East families, who hosted a school supply drive, we have also been able to create connection between the census and helping families prepare to start a new and very different kind of school year. Clients who have filled out the census are eligible to receive a back to school bag and additional school supplies, as long as supplies last, as a way to encourage civic engagement in this census process.

Are you ready to fill out the census? Click here to fill out your survey!

Do you want to help make calls to fellow Angelenos and make sure our communities are counted? Click here to phone bank with the L.A. City Mayor’s office!

Click here for more ways you can help spread the word through your social media, personal and professional networks.

Update: Since we completed our Census efforts, the Karsh team and volunteers helped confirm 311 of our clients completed the Census and passed out back to school bags for all 311 of those families!