Faith Matters hosts faith and community leaders to ensure homeless people get counted in the 2010 U.S. Census

February 2010

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, at PATH, community and government leaders convened with members of Southern California’s faith community to discuss Census 2010 and the importance of counting homeless people in the Los Angeles region. The meeting included representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, the California Community Foundation (CCF) and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). It was hosted by Faith Matters, an alliance of faith groups in Southern California working together to inspire the community to end homelessness.

"[The Los Angeles region is] the 800 pound gorilla in America’s living room because we have the largest population of homeless people in the country," Julie Beardsley, the head of L.A. County’s census efforts, told the group.

Census data determines 85 percent of federal grant funding for critical programs like Medicaid, foster care and McKinney-Vento for the next ten years. For every person not counted, Los Angeles County loses more than $1,100 in federal resources per year. Over ten years, this amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues. To ensure our community receives the resources necessary to address homelessness, Faith Matters is mobilizing faith groups to help the Census Bureau get an accurate count.

"The work we do means nothing if all of you don’t get involved," said Shannon W. Lawrence, Partnership Specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau Los Angeles Region.

The California Community Foundation is investing $1.5 million to help communities reach out to people who traditionally get overlooked and go uncounted, including those who are homeless. Our organization’s work is supported (in whole or in part) by a grant from the California Community Foundation.

For more information about Census 2010 and how you or your faith organization can help, please visit:

Faith Matters: http://www.ourfaithmatters.org
U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
City of Los Angeles: http://www.lacity.org