Census volunteers canvas Orlando neighborhood
ORLANDO, Fla. - Volunteers went door to door in Orlando’s Richmond Heights and Washington Shores neighborhoods, Saturday morning, urging people there to take part in the US census.
Luqman Abdush-Shihad, a local imam, joined the effort to get his neighbors to fill out the forms.
“We wanted to be a part of this,” Shahid said, “We're going from door to door passing out these particular leaflets.”
All morning and early afternoon, workers had kiosks set up at the nearby James R. Smith Community Center for people in the community to walk over and fill out their census information.
“Those numbers bring resources to the community,” Shahid said, “if we have fewer numbers, it's fewer resources.”
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The census drive was organized by Orlando Commissioner Bakari Burns, who said more resources helps his district.
“District 6 and parts of District 5 have been underrepresented, historically. We want to be aggressive on the importance of filling out the census.”
Burns said the money helps all parts of the district.
“We talk about the need for healthcare resources. This census can dictate how those resources are allocated. We talk about affordable housing, childcare resources, it has a direct impact on our community.”
Residents say they were happy to see volunteers getting the word out.
“I think they're doing an amazing job,” said Charlie Foster. "Numbers make a difference.”
The census deadline is September 30. Burns is trying to keep the census kiosks open at the Smith Center until the end of the month.