Census Caravan promotes Census Participation
PALMDALE — Activist Kevin Guillen from Strength Based Community Change, working with Palmdale School District, Best Start Palmdale and Best Start Lancaster, organized a caravan to bring awareness to the importance of being counted.
Organizers discouraged watchers from coming out to wave at the caravan due to the unhealthy air quality.
Across Los Angeles County, caravans are being organized and Strength Based
Community Change began the kickoff in front of the Palmdale School District offices.
“We chose to start here because education is one of our primary focuses,” Guillen said. “And we are so far away from Los Angeles that we need to be sure we are counted.”
He said that each person counted represents $1,000 a year for the next 10 years. LA County had the highest number of Latino children who were not counted and
so do not exist in the area of federal funding. Best Start Palmdale and Lancaster focuses on children up to age five with day care, early childhood education and programs that serve families of young children.
The caravan left the Palmdale School District offices at 10 a.m. and drove through neighborhoods where the response to the census is low. It made a few stops, including Yucca School. Strength Based Community Change posted videos to Facebook Live showing the volunteers and organizations involved in Census efforts. The caravan ended at noon as scheduled in the Palmdale High School parking lot.
The census will end on
Sept. 30.