The Center and the Census
Update, April 5th
Today, April 5th, The Census Bureau had its first-ever official unveiling of PSAs for the LGBT Community at our Center. If you missed the unveiling, you can watch this video below.
The Center and the Census
You may have noticed 2010 Census promotion material everywhere around New York City; on phone booths, buses, public spaces, in newspapers and on television. It is important to our city that everyone fills out the Census so that New York City gets its fair share of funding from the federal government to improve schools, healthcare, fight crime, repair roads, and support other critical city services for all New Yorkers. The 2010 Census matters to everyone, but particularly the LGBT community. Dr. Gary Gates of the Williams explains that “Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct. For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color).”
At the Center, 300,000 people visit us a year. The Center uses government funding to provide life-saving services to the LGBT population in New York. Through government funding from federal, state and city sources we are able to provide substance abuse treatment to LGBT New Yorker’s, a safe space for LGBT youth in need as well as a host of other programming.
Currently the census has set up a booth at the Center to assist our community fill out the forms. We applaud that effort to make sure our community is included. However, the census doesn’t track LGBT identity as part of what they collect, and we feel it is incredibly important that they start. We invite you to view this great video from New York City’s TV25 for information about why it is important and specifically why it important to the Center.
Glennda Testone
I sent in my Cencus Blank with a note attached stating” The New york Government said we didn’t count when they voted against gay marriage. So don’t count me in your cencus.
The word GAY was never mentioned on the form so how are they going to count gay couples?
I agree with Robert, 100 %
Hopefully the Census will cover the LGBT fully and be totally inclusive. I urge everyone to send out their forms. Please remember the deadline is April 15th.
I just wanted to clarify something. Although April 1st is being listed as the deadline for returns. This is the date that occupants will be counted by.Anyone born AFTER April 1st will NOT be counted in the current Ceunsus. Also April 15th (like taxes) is supposedly the “offical date”. You may still send in your forms. If you have’t received them by April 12th. You can contact the Census Agency here: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/ Door to door agents will be sent to homes begining in May,for those who don’t return their forms.