YDB Hosts Census 2010 Advocacy Workshop

On Wednesday, January 20, 2010, Young Detroit Builders (YDB) was host to a census advocacy workshop entitled “Dispelling the Myths, Let’s be Counted in 2010.” The objective of the event was to educate the community about the importance of the census and to dispel any myths that might discourage individuals from participating in the census count.

“Many people withhold information and are therefore undercounted because of their fear of what will be done with the information once it is collected. YDB would like to help clear up some of the confusion,” said Indira Pierce, Leadership Development Specialist at YDB.

The census workshop was held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 1950 Trumbull in Detroit from 5p.m.-7p.m. Guest speakers included Dr. Jerome Reide, Field Organizer for NAACP National, and Brian White from the Census Bureau. In addition to dispelling myths, speakers will also talked about census job opportunities.

YDB selected this particular event as their MLK Day of Service Project because of the connection of the census to civil rights. According to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, “An accurate census affects the nation’s ability to ensure equal representation & equal access to resources.”

YDB wanted to become involved because it provides services to the same populations that are most commonly underrepresented in the census and, therefore, denied valuable resources. So, instead of cleaning or painting, this year YDB students chose to serve by offering knowledge, which could result in major change for some Detroit communities.