Outreach & Advocacy: Census and Youth Mentoring Programs
by Amy McGuire, Communication Specialist
“We count on you to be our heroes in our communities.” Julien Labiche, Director of Programs with Liberty’s Promise, addresses a group of young immigrant students with assurance and conviction during an afterschool civic engagement meeting at Gaithersburg High School. The topic of discussion is the 2020 Census.
No small task for a group of high school students, but Julien is confident that these kids have the ability to build trust in their communities through their own census outreach.
Helping young immigrants get involved and be part of their community through civic engagement is the core of Liberty’s Promise. Through its afterschool programs, the nonprofit organization helps immigrant youth overcome challenges they may face as they learn to navigate an unfamiliar system.
“Many of the immigrant youth have, as many immigrants in the U.S. do, limitations by structural barriers in society that do not allow them to advocate for themselves or participate in democracy due to language barriers, cultural shock, and, sometimes, legal status,” says Jenny Escobar, Program Officer with Liberty’s Promise. “For young immigrants, the 2020 Census is an event that shows them that they count, they are heard, and they are important in the community.”
As our population progressively becomes more diverse, the involvement of young immigrants in census outreach efforts is essential in reaching out to as many communities as possible for the 2020 count.
“In light of all the back and forth that happened with the citizenship question, building, or re-building trust is paramount,” says Julien. “We believe that the youth have the energy and the power necessary to build that momentum and trust.”
During the meeting at Gaithersburg High School, Liberty’s Promise students are empowered with the knowledge of how valuable census statistics are and how they impact their own communities. Working in groups, they develop messaging and design posters that convey how census data is used, why it’s important to be counted, and what’s at stake if you’re not.
Gaithersburg Graphic Designer Samantha Sekellick leads the group in a poster design lesson incorporating the 2020 Census.
“Our youth’s involvement in the process is a way to motivate and inspire others who have not been counted in the census before to make their voices heard,” says Jenny. “For them, this is a moment of walking over fear, breaking generational inequalities, and making themselves count as responsible citizens of the country that has welcomed them to study and embrace a new culture. Having immigrant youth involved in the 2020 Census is an opportunity of change for the most vulnerable, as well as the community in its entirety.”
Advocating for Our Youth: How Census Data Supports Youth Programs
Taking part in the 2020 Census helps shape all kinds of resources for children over the next decade. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there’s a long-standing undercount of young children in decennial counts, a group that relies heavily on census data for childcare, food assistance, early childhood development, and school programs. Youth initiatives such as Head Start, the National School Lunch program, and grants that support special education all rely on census data for federal funding.
For Liberty’s Promise, it all starts with the census when it comes to strategic development. The nonprofit utilizes census data when exploring where to bring its program. “Knowing who and where the most vulnerable populations are in the community helps us prioritize services and locations,” says Julien. “Census data can highlight emerging demographic trends and patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed.”
For example, the organization conducted research on immigration in rural areas of the United States, looking for places that were under the radar, perhaps for being too remote or low density. “That’s how we ended up looking at places like West Liberty, Iowa, a town that became the first in the state to have a Hispanic/Latino majority population at 52.2% according to the 2010 census,” says Julien. “I’m willing to bet that West Liberty doesn’t make the news too often, yet the needs are real and the support is lacking.”
Guys of Gaithersburg, a youth mentoring program that works with at-risk minority male students at Gaithersburg Middle School, is operated by Family Services, Inc. (FSI), a nonprofit organization whose services are funded through county, state and federal grants. When advocating for funding of its programs, census data offers vital support.
“The census is important to youth services and programming because of the proper allocation of funding,” says Jason Miller, Youth Development Specialist with FSI (pictured on the cover). “It provides data to the decision makers to fund our youth programs.”
“We are very receptive to community feedback, and we can sense where the needs in immigration are going,” says Jenny. “But without data to back us up, our observations are just as good as anyone else’s. This is particularly relevant when we need to pitch our programs to a funder.”
“In that way, the census is an advocacy tool,” says Julien. “For Gaithersburg, census data speaks for itself: half of the population speaks a language other than English at home, and nearly a third is foreign born, according to the most recent estimates.”
Take it from the Kids, Take the Census
From Instagram and TikTok videos to going door to door, our youngest census ambassadors are on a mission – to make sure everyone is counted.
In addition to designing posters to display at Gaithersburg High School and during events, Liberty’s Promise students took part in the City of Gaithersburg’s census awareness campaign (see center spread). The group is planning a youth town hall meeting in the spring of 2020, bringing together youth-serving organizations to promote the census.
“The Census 2020 is important because it provides trustworthy statistics about the structure, distribution, and growth of the populations,” shares Carlos Bocanegra, a member of Liberty’s Promise. “It also provides demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the community.”
When asked why people should fill out the census, Liberty’s Promise member Karen Chig responds, “To know by how much the population has grown and who the government should serve and to distribute the money from the government fairly among the low-income communities.”
At Gaithersburg Middle School, the “Guys” are producing their own promotional video stressing the importance of the 2020 Census. The students have lots of ideas on how they want to get the word out, including passing out flyers, creating posters, engaging on social media, and even old-fashioned canvassing.
“I think it’s important for people to fill out the census so we can have the right representation for our community,” says Guys of Gaithersburg 8th grader Emmanuel Konteh.
“First and foremost, it is their civic duty to get involved in helping with the 2020 Census,” shares Yout Development Specialist Jason Miller. “Most of them will either be adults or close to adulthood by the 2030 census and should get familiar with it as soon as possible.”
A lot rides on an accurate count when it comes to youth programs, and students like Carlos, Karen and Emmanuel are doing their part to spread the word. Make sure you and your family are counted in the 2020 Census.
Gemmell Family Playground
The City of Gaithersburg joined the Where Angels Play Foundation to build a new tot lot play area at Griffith Park to honor and celebrate the lives of Marie, Cole & Devin Gemmell. The community and volunteers from near and far took lent their time and energy during the three-day build. A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony held on September 15 marked the official opening of the Gemmell Family Playgound, located at Griffith Park, 29 South Summit Avenue.
The playground reflects the life and personality of Marie, Cole and Devin Gemmell, who were tragically killed in 2014 when a private plane crashed into their family home.
Ken Gemmell and daughter Arabelle designed the playground and served as project chairs. The playground is the 54th project built by Where Angels Play.
Where Angels Play Foundation is a nonprofit foundation created in the wake of the tragic events of Superstorm Sandy and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
View a collection of images here.
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