May 6, Anthony, NM – Up until January of this year the town of Anthony, NM was an unincorporated, census-designated place. Residents just recently voted to incorporate, thus giving them the responsibility of electing a mayor and city council, who will help direct the future of this city. A great tool that will be at their disposal will be the data delivered by the 2010 Census. Participation in Dona Ana County, where Anthony is located, has been relatively high thus far. However in small subsections of Anthony, such as the area of La Union, many of the residents remain hard to count.
Today, the 2010 Census Road Tour attended a La Union Elementary School assembly where parents and administrators enjoyed live entertainment preformed by talented students. Census in Schools has been an important campaign in reaching communities that pose a challenge to the 2010 Census count. Many of the residents who attended today’s assembly had not received their census form in the mail and were reminded that enumerators are now on the ground visiting residents to ensure everyone is counted. Others didn’t know just how important the results of the Census are to their community. All received helpful information explaining the next steps in getting counted and what the census means for their kids, schools and community.
May 5 – Chaparral, NM is considered part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Area, but the town itself is more closely related to its large neighboring city - El Paso, TX. Many of its residents work in Texas, but call New Mexico home. As of the 2000 Census, Chaparral had a population of just over 6,000. But, as El Paso has expanded in both its economy and population, the 2010 Census will tell us if Chaparral’s population has boomed over the last decade as well.
Today, the 2010 Census Road Tour was invited by Desert Trail Elementary School to participate in their PTO meeting. With a room full of school administrators, parents and teachers - census workers engaged the community by bringing awareness to census facts while dispelling myths. They also asked that the community to open their doors in the next coming weeks to census takers that will be at their door steps with forms in hand. The maximum participation by Chaparral residents will directly effect Desert Trail Elementary students for the next decade.
May 3, El Paso, TX – The final Texas event for the 2010 Census Road Tour took place outside of Montana Vista Mercado, about 20 miles east of downtown El Paso. The market caters to a community of rural farmers and every other industry that uses the major transportation route it is located on. Its location allowed census workers to reach out to this hard-to-count population. The focus now is for residents to open their doors to the census takers that will be coming around their community in the next couple weeks. Most residents were happy to see the Road Tour set up at their local market. As the Road Tour says goodbye to Texas, regional and local census workers will continue to reach out to this important population.
May 2, El Paso, TX – It was called a farmer’s market but the majority of vendors set up in front of the El Paso Outlet Mall were local artists, selling paintings, jewelry and pottery. The 2010 Census Road Tour joined this community of artists to raise awareness of census participation in this update/enumerate area. Across the country, the deadline for mail-in participation has passed and now census takers are visiting households to ensure everyone is counted. El Paso mail-in participation rate is parallel with that of the nation (72%) and is actually above the State of Texas itself (69%). Still, many people we spoke with today knew someone who had not participated yet. Local census Partnership staff were on hand to answer any and all questions from not only residents, but the local news who came out to cover the event.
May 1, Sierra Blanca, TX – After two weeks of traversing the Rio Grande Valley, the 2010 Census Road Tour headed west. With a mail-in participation rate of 37%, Take 10’s first stop was in Hudspeth County and the town of Sierra Blanca. Named after the nearby Sierra Blanca Mountain, the town is a census-designated place, which means it is an unincorporated concentration of population. As of the 2000 Census Sierra Blanca had a very small population of only 533 residents. That number has certainly grown in the last decade -- and it is the job of the 2010 Census to find out by how much!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - The final day of road tour events in the Rio Grande Valley took place today in the City of Zapata, about 50 miles east of Laredo, TX. A local food market invited us to set up in front of their store to provide much needed information about how to obtain a census form. Many of the residents who stopped by said they had not received a census survey in their mailboxes. Some had P.O. boxes. All were directed to call an assistance center and given the opportunity to take the survey over the phone or encouraged to simply open their doors to census takers who will be coming to their neighborhood in the coming weeks. As the 2010 Census Road Tour moves on to El Paso, it is hoped that the Rio Grande Valley residents continue to have a voice in their community and to feel secure about the confidentiality of their information.
A colonia is a local term used in the Rio Grande Valley to describe neighborhoods where a majority of residents live below the poverty line. Streets are sometimes unpaved and many families live together on one property. Many of these residents do not have formal addresses.
An accurate census count in this area will help provide much needed federal funding for public services. Services like the San Carlos Community Center, in Edinburg, TX. Young mothers and their children come in to the community center for assistance; that includes health services as well as social services. An elementary school sits on the same lot. Without public funding these establishments would not exist. Without an accurate count of area residents and knowledge of it’s demographics, public services cannot be directed to the people most in need of it.
The 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour helped spread the word today in Edinburg, Texas to make sure everyone is counted in the 2010 Census!
Sunday, April 25, 2010 - The southern most city in Texas, Brownsville, had a population of around 140,000 according to the 2000 Census. With a quarter of its residents foreign born, the city of Brownsville has a large population of Spanish-speaking residents. With this in mind, the 2010 Census Road Tour set up on the grounds of a local favorite flea market and delivered the most up-to-date information about the census to the community with the help of bilingual census staff. It is important that residents open their doors to census takers. $400 billion over the next decade will be allocated to communities in need of local support; communities like Brownsville, TX.
Saturday, April 24, 2010 - To celebrate Children’s Day or “La Marcha del dia de los ninos,” the city of Alamo and the ARISE Center coordinated a local parade and festival and they were kind enough to invite the 2010 Census Road Tour to participate. Children make up nearly 40% of the cities population. Unfortunately children under 18 also comprise almost half of all those who live under the poverty line in Alamo. They definitely could use some encouragement and a day to celebrate the positive things in life. The local high school soccer team and cheerleading squad walked directly in front of the RTV as they lead us through the streets of their city. The parade ended at the ARISE Center Park where a small community festival was waiting. Adults and kids preformed traditional Mexican dancing and singing, while free food, drink and play area all entertained the crowd. There are so many talented young kids in Alamo and an accurate count in this year’s census would benefit them.
Friday, April 23, 2010 - With temperatures hovering around 90 degrees in the Rio Grande Valley, many residents of Hidalgo, TX headed to Junior’s Supermarket to stock up on cold drinks and ice for the weekend. Just outside the front doors the 2010 Census Road Tour set up shop to provide much needed information about not only the importance of the 2010 census, but also how to go about obtaining and filling out the form itself. Census takers will begin going door to door in those areas with low participation rates in the next coming weeks. The City of Hidalgo, TX has a participation rate of only 44%. Just 3 miles north of Hidalgo, in McAllen, TX, the participation rate is 64%. Residents of the City of McAllen outnumber those of Hidalgo by well over 100,000 people. It is very important then, that Hidalgo residents become more active in their participation in their community.
