Beginning Monday, July 27, Orange County will mark a Census Week of Action, urging all residents to participate in the 2020 Census. Orange County is at a 70.5% response rate; in 2010, the region achieved a 71.7% response rate.
Charitable Ventures, the State-designated Administrative Community-Based Organization (ACBO) focused on 2020 Census outreach in Orange County, along with Community Action Partnership of Orange County and NALEO Educational Fund, are organizing a huge push to encourage Census participation, with phone banks, social media pushes, and a virtual Census Town Hall happening Monday, July 27 through Friday, July 31.
The virtual Census Town Hall will take place 4:00-5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 27 and can be viewed at @OCCensus on Facebook. Speakers include U.S. Representative Lou Correa (CA-46); U.S. Representative Katie Porter (CA-45); Bao Nguyen, U.S. Census Bureau Lead Partnership Specialist; Mary Anne Foo, Founder and Executive Director of OCAPICA; Nancy Mejia, Chief Program Officer of Latino Health Access; and Saul Viramontes, Special Projects Manager for the County of Orange. Moderators will be Yesenia Hernandez, Census Manager at Community Action Partnership, and Darlene Moreno, Regional Census Campaign Manager at NALEO Educational Fund.
The Get Out the Count virtual phone banks will take place from 2:30-5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 28 through Friday, July 31. Volunteers can still register to phone bank at http://bit.ly/occounts.
These continued efforts to galvanize Orange County residents to participate in the Census come after delays to the Census timeline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including restrictions on field operations to protect the health and safety of the public and U.S. Census Bureau employees.
The deadline for responding to the Census has been extended to October 31.
The U.S. Census, which is required by the U.S. Constitution every 10 years, is our country’s only fully-inclusive opportunity for civic participation to determine how power and money are distributed across America. Data gathered in this simple, confidential nine-question survey is used to secure millions of dollars for programs in Orange County’s communities, including health care and emergency services critical for responding to crises like COVID-19, and to determine political representation for the next decade.
Historically, a number of communities have been undercounted in Orange County, including people of color, children under age 5, individuals experiencing homelessness, veterans and more, costing the region millions in lost resources
Miguel Hernandez, Executive Director of OCCCO and co-chair of the OC Census Executive Team said, “On behalf of all Census champions in Orange County, we’re excited about the upcoming Census Week of Action. During the Week of Action, we want to bring energy to our region and remind our community to complete the Census. It’s critical that we have a complete and accurate count in Orange County. What we do this year will impact funding and representation for the next 10 years.”
To learn more about local Census efforts, please visit www.occensus.org.
Full press release available here.
