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You count
Parishes team up with Census Bureau
by Jared Field of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 13, 2009
Detroit - The U.S. Census Bureau's goal of reaching the hard-to-count population of southeast Michigan is being aided by parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Jacqui Showers, a partnership specialist with the 2010 census, was appointed to approach various religious institutions, including Catholic parishes, in order to distribute information to the public. She says parishes can play a role achieving the goal of the census: the most accurate count.
"We are looking for different faith-based organization to partner with us because they reach a vast amount of people in our communities," said Showers, who works primarily with faith-based communities. "There are a lot of monies earmarked associated with it. If we don't get an accurate count ... we stand to lose."
Several parishes have decided to lend a hand, including St. Alfred in Taylor, Sacred Heart in Detroit and Our Lady of Fatima in Oak Park.
Fr. Henry Sands, pastor of St. Alfred, has opened up his parish to the Census, noting its importance to the archdiocese.
"I know that the census provides useful information for the government and for lots of other purposes," Fr. Sands said. "I know in the archdiocese we rely on information from the census."
On two occasions, Fr. Sands allowed census workers to set up a table at parish events.
"I think that assisting with the census is a good thing," Fr. Sands said. "The government bases the funding of lots of things on the census. It really affects the amount of money that we receive from the state and federal government."
Before bringing them in, Fr. Sands said he contacted the Archdiocese of Detroit to get the go-ahead to partner up.
"I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any reason why we shouldn't do it," he said.
The Department of Communications of the archdiocese recently encouraged pastors to use their own discretion with respect to the endeavor, stating the individual parishes have the right to cooperate or decline.
Showers says her goal is to be able to distribute literature to increase awareness about the upcoming census and to educate the public about its importance.
"We know that we need (the parishes) in order to get our message out," she said. "We've had a high attrition rate, so we need to make sure that everyone is counted."
Showers says she is pleased with the participation thus far, but hopes that many more parishes will want to get involved.
For more information on the 2010 Census, visit census.gov on the Internet.
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