By Evan Armstrong
Community Engagement VISTA

Next up in the Census 2010 series is a brief list of why it is important for everyone to participate, and how the census will benefit you!

–It is required by law–
Some people might say that the census isn’t meant for everybody, but this is not true. The goal of the census is to enumerate every person residing in the United States, regardless of their legal status. You cannot ‘choose’ not to participate – if you first ignore the questionnaire in the mail, and then avoid talking to Census workers at your house, you can be prosecuted under the law. The fine for refusing to fill out a Census form is up to $5000.

–Allocation of federal funding–
Counting an accurate, maximum number of people living in an area forces the federal government to acknowledge an area’s complete population, making it harder for budget cuts toward necessary services to be approved. $400 million in federal funds are allocated annually throughout the United States, and census data is the primary source for determining the proportions each state receives.

–Community infrastructure–
If your community is undercounted, a different district may, for example, get permission to build a new school you would have received monies for otherwise. Or if the city you work in is undercounted, new highways may be routed to somewhere else instead, based on census population statistics. Even in natural disasters, emergency responders use census statistics to determine the resources and personnel they dedicate to aiding an afflicted area. Census data is used for everything from mapping district boundaries to mapping new bus stops.

–Representation–
Every ten years, electoral lines across the nation are redrawn, and census data is used to determine how many seats in the House of Representatives each state will have. Right now, Missouri is projected to lose a seat, but only by the slimmest of margins. Ensuring that every person living in Missouri is counted could save that seat, allowing Missouri to maintain its current level of influence in Congress and in national elections.

Remember above all else, the census is safe, easy, and beneficial to you and your community!

By Evan Armstrong
Community Engagement VISTA

The following is the first of a series of blogs about Census 2010.

In the coming months, if you ever hear anyone wondering why the government spends so much time every ten years counting everyone, let them know that it isn’t just some fancy government spending operation! A decennial census is actually mandated by the Constitution, and everyone living in the U.S. is required to participate.

The U.S. Census Bureau is in charge of the arduous task of counting everyone in the country. There are tweaks and changes to each decade’s census, going back from the very first census in 1790 that was administered by U.S. Marshals on horseback! That census counted slightly fewer than 4 million people, while the 2010 Census is expected to count well over 300 million. Later entries will go into detail about what the upcoming census will entail, but this initial post will give you a timeline of important dates in the next year.

February-March 2010: Census questionnaires are mailed or delivered to households nationwide.
— Once you get your questionnaire, just fill it out and send it in! If you fill out the questionnaire completely, you will not be visited by any census workers later.

April 1, 2010: Census Day
— This is the last day to send in your questionnaire before census workers begin going door-to-door to locate everyone who has not already been counted. It is much more cost-effective to send the form in rather than being visited by a worker, so do your part!

April-July 2010: Census takers visit households across America
— The government hired over 800,000 census workers in 2000, and the effort is expected to be even greater for the newest census!

December 2010: A population count is given to the President
— After this date, data collected is begun to be used for electoral redistribution, the providing of community services, and the local allocation of over $400 billion annually based on census statistics.

April 1, 2082: Census data from 2010 becomes public.
— If you are concerned about privacy, look at this date. After collection, census data is absolutely private for 72 years! Census employees are held to absolute confidentiality, face jail time and fines if they divulge information, and take their jobs extremely seriously! Census data cannot be used to prosecute individuals for any offenses, even by the federal government. There is absolutely no risk of filling out a census form, your information is both confidential and safe.

For more information on the 2010 census, see: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/

First Impressions

By Evan Armstrong,

Community Engagement VISTA

A new endeavor by the International Institute this year involves the acceptance of five AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers to serve at the Institute. As one of those VISTA volunteers, I have been allowed to shadow the majority of the services the Institute offers as part of our on-site orientation. One of the most important services that the Institute provides (especially in the eyes of the refugees) involves picking individuals and families up from the airport when they first arrive in St. Louis. Many new clients have been away from their homes for many years, in camps or other countries providing temporary asylum. The landing of their plane in St. Louis marks the first stage of their resettlement process, while the sights and sounds as they leave the airport provide their first real impressions of America. I was fortunate enough to get to participate in an airport pickup this past week, and left impressed both at the smoothness of the operation International Institute employees carry out, and also at the resolve of the refugees who are coping with extraordinary change in their lives.

Disclosure rights prevent me from giving many details, but I was present at the arrival of a male refugee from Liberia. The flight got in pretty late, after 10pm CST – but I can’t complain while knowing that the refugee on board had been traveling for more than 24 hours in cramped airplane seats. We greeted Peter (name changed for protection) as he arrived, and after picking up a single piece of luggage for all his possessions, he was ready to go. Before the airport pickup, Institute employees secure housing for refugees who do not have family in the area to live with, so a modest apartment had been set up for this man. We drove Peter from the airport to his new apartment, and walked through how to work the basic appliances, as well as reading through the rules for the terms of lease agreement. Some basic food items had been bought earlier in the day for his use as well. After that, there was some quick signing of paperwork, and then we wished him good luck and promised to return the next day to take him shopping for more food and essential items.

Every new refugee at the Institute receives a small check from the government to allow for basic living as they acclimate to the United States, with a hope that by the time that money runs out, refugees will have found jobs and can be self-sustaining. The International Institute is heavily involved in that process, devoting time and resources to ensure that every client has opportunities to find work. After the grocery run the next day with Peter, he was instructed on when to come in next to begin his search for employment.

Peter comes to the International Institute almost every day right now. I smile and talk with him briefly whenever I see him, knowing he must be glad to recognize a face. It is an interesting feeling, knowing I was present from the moment he first arrived, and knowing that the Institute is his primary resource in this new stage of his life. I wish nothing but the best for him and all persons who have come from suffering countries to seek a better life. I hope we are able to live up to the promise of America, and believe strongly that the International Institute will provide positive, necessary services toward that end.

By Emma Jehle, Community Relations Intern

This month the Culture and Community department of the International Institute of St. Louis is continuing preparations for the 10^th annual Festival of Nations, the leading celebration of world cultures in St. Louis, which will take place August 29^th and 30^th, 2009 in Tower Grove Park.  This year we expect over 100,000 friends in attendance to experience the music, arts and crafts, dance, sports and cuisine of over fifty cultures from around the world.  The festival is not only an opportunity to see the world from your own backyard, so to speak, but also a chance to come together with your friends, family and neighbors—the diverse St. Louis community all together.  Above all, the festival is a celebration of diversity and symbolic of the peace we long to see not just in our city, but also in the world as a whole.

At a moment when armed conflict continues to dominate the Middle East, when ethnic tensions result in riots and death in China and elsewhere, when women in many parts of the world are flogged or worse for wearing pants or going to school, and when people are forced out of their homelands for any or all of these reasons, it is all the more important that an international community come together in peace.  In this spirit of peace we are able to share the aspects of our daily lives that give shape, meaning, and identity to our respective cultures.  Suddenly, attending the workshop on Taiwanese Calligraphy or watching the dances of the Djerdan Bosnian Folkloric Group or munching on some Brazilian feijoada or having your hands adorned with the henna decorations of Egypt become not the activities of an interesting Saturday afternoon, but rather portals to cultural exchange, to understanding, and to unity.

So when you come to the festival this year with your friends and family, keep in mind the subtle significance of all that you do, see, and eat.  It will certainly be a fun-filled and exciting August weekend with seemingly limitless activities and treats for everyone and free admission.  Yet, it is also an opportunity for peaceful exchange with people from all over the world, which is an opportunity of no small value. 

We’ll see you August 29^th and 30^th in Tower Grove Park!

By Andrew Schmidt,
Administration Intern

What do Germany, France, and Japan have in common? What about Ireland, China, and Italy? Guyana, Poland, and Senegal?

The answer is that each of these countries, in addition to Russia, Mexico, and most recently Indonesia, have at least one sister city relationship with Saint Louis. All told, Saint Louis has 14 sister cities committed to acknowledging common interests and building on mutual opportunities. Specifically, Saint Louis’ connections derive from an abundance of academic and cultural institutions, commercial linkages and opportunities for expansion, as well as its position as an international city.

So, what’s the difference? I managed to make it 20 years without knowing about any of our 14 sisters. Even upon learning of them, I only knew where about half of them are. But then I started reading about them (and pulling out maps where necessary). If you have ever been to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and seen the sacred tea house in the Japanese Garden, you ought to thank the people of Suwa, Japan. Likewise, the aptly-named Nanjing Friendship Garden was a gift from our sister in China, the first U.S.-China sister city relationship. And the next time you see Saint Louis’ Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, think of the good folks in Galway whose progenies made it possible.

But, the focus should not be on what one or the other side can physically get out of the exchange. The sister cities program came in to being thanks to Dwight Eisenhower and his belief that local diplomacy could encourage cooperation and perhaps foster international peace. This makes sense: one is less likely to fight with someone with whom one shares some sense of connection. The whole process can be seen as an encouragement to think more globally. How often do we lose interest in the news because we do not know where the location of a story is? How much harder is it to sympathize with (or easier to ignore) struggles of persons who are far away?

Someone in Samara, or Szczecin, or San Luis Potosi knows where Saint Louis, Missouri is. Saint Louis is a non-capital city in one of 50 states in the middle of a very large country, so for someone in Russia, Poland, or Mexico to know this is impressive. We can at least return the favor. We are not all responsible for becoming experts in geography, but we could learn where a few more cities are. Some children in Nanjing might wonder about a foreign-looking playground and do the same for us. All we have to lose is our apathy.

For more on Saint Louis’ Sister Cities, see www.slcir.org.