MADISON — A Census 2020 meeting co-sponsored by Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center will be held at at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, at the Madison Community Arts Center, 10 Kings Road.
“The entire state will suffer if not everyone is counted,” according to a release from Wind of the Spirit. “Schools, roads, environment, healthcare, housing, food resources, social services, senior services — all depend on billions of federal dollars. Important planning data will be lost if not everyone is counted.”
The New Jersey effort to reach hard-to-count (HTC) populations is led by the N.J. State Complete Count Commission and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Wind of the Spirit, a U.S. Census Bureau Complete Count Committee and member of the Census 2020 NJ Coalition Steering Committee, is spearheading Morris County efforts to identify and engage all HTC communities — low-income households, black and African-American, Asian and Latino and LGBTQ populations, immigrants, non-native English speakers, young children, seniors, renters, the disabled, veterans and the homeless.
The committee likewise coordinates efforts in Warren, Sussex, Union, Essex, Hudson and Somerset counties and shares models statewide.
“Next year includes new challenges to collecting data,” the resource center’s release adds. “A digital platform will be introduced to the census process in March 2020, a system that raises concerns about privacy, cyber security and universal access in the face of an increasing digital divide.
“Although a citizenship question will not be included, the lasting effects of that conversation and current events have caused nationwide distrust of government and fears, unfounded or not, have grown exponentially nationwide,” according to Wind of the Spirit.
To respond or for more information, email by clicking here or contact Missy Elias at (201) 220-4495.
