Global Kids
Global Kids youth take part in a discussion and planning session. The organization received a $100,000 grant for young people to educate and activate people in their communities to get counted in the 2020 Census.
When the 2020 Census launches in March, a group of 75 to 100 New York City teenagers will kick into gear. They’ll fan out in their neighborhoods, give presentations at PTA meetings and community centers and set up events at parks, street fairs and schools. They’ll be educating their communities, and in some cases, helping people complete census forms.
These peer educators are part of Global Kids, an after-school youth leadership and civic education nonprofit headquartered in New York City. Its goal is to educate and inspire young people in underserved communities to engage in critical issues facing the world.
The census count has an important impact on young people, said Evie Hantzopoulos, executive director of Global Kids.
Population numbers determine how much funding New York City gets for education, public housing and a host of other services — as well as determining the number of representatives in Congress. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, $650 billion is at stake.
New York City is estimated to have had less than 62% of its population counted in the 2010 Census.
The peer educators “are going to go through an intensive training on why the census is important, especially in underserved communities, and how it affects them and their families,” Hantzopoulos said.
They’ll help strategize effective ways to do outreach. “They’re going to be the ones deciding how to do it,” she said.
They may also be combating disinformation about the census in the midst of a heated presidential race.
The youth in Global Kids know firsthand how to reach the people in their communities, Hantzopoulos said.
“We have multilingual young people,” she said. “They’re going to be able to speak to people in their networks and communities. They’ll gain all these skills on how to organize and mobilize communities to the communities’ benefit.”
The Global Kids project is part of a major New York City campaign led by the mayor’s office, the New York City Council and the City University of New York. It includes the $19 million New York City Complete Count Fund, designed to support outreach by community-based organizations. Community organizations are considered effective messengers since they serve New Yorkers where they live and in the languages that they speak. Global Kids received a $100,000 grant from the fund.
In January, Global Kids will start recruiting young people to be peer educators. Youth will be trained in February and roll out the program in March.
In addition to the peer educators, all 3,000 young people in Global Kids’ after-school programs will learn about the census and will get pledge cards to take to their families.
The census count runs from mid-March through the end of July. Each U.S. household should receive a census form by April 1. They are urged to self-report by filling out the form online, by mail or by phone. Across the nation, the response rate was about 74% in 2010.
Later, census takers will fan out to try to reach people who have not responded, as well as to reach college students, seniors in care facilities and others.
