April 1 is Census Day!

Have you mailed back your Census form?? This may seem like a meaningless exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The census is a snapshot of our country, our state, our city, AND our neighborhood as of April 1, 2010. This snapshot is used to determine all sorts of important things for local governments, but it is also used to determine important things for our neighborhood, and for the District 1 Community Council and other local non-profits.

For us at the Council, the City and foundations use the census figures to determine where money should be allocated. A lot of funding is dependent on how many people and how diverse a neighborhood is. One thing that the Council is concerned about is that the 2000 Census was used to determine average incomes in neighborhoods, and, therefore, need for funding to keep youth programs going, to assist homeowners, to make sure that resources were available for needy elders. If the current Census does not gather data on income, are the City and funders going to assume that the 2000 data still apply??

Our demographics have changed in the last ten years pretty dramatically. We need everyone to understand that we could use more help than we've had in the past. Plus rapid demographic change tends to make some people uneasy. If that uneasiness isn't addressed, it can become something more serious...

Our mission is to make our neighborhoods more vibrant and welcoming... how can we do that if no one has a good picture of what our neighborhood is like at this moment??

So send in your Census form. For the sake of the neighborhood!!