FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2020
CONTACT: Elena Shore
Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 415-581-2360
SAN FRANCISCO – Sunday Streets and partners SF Counts are kicking off the 2020 season with a clear message: Everyone counts in the 2020 Census.
Days before the census goes live, Sunday Streets will launch its new season with a special SF Counts zone to encourage all San Franciscans to complete the census.
The nonprofit Livable City kicks off this year’s first Sunday Streets event in the Mission on March 8, 2020 from 11 am- 4pm, with car-free space on Valencia from 26th to Duboce Street. Starting March 9, 2020, people will be able to complete the census by phone (available in 15 languages). Beginning on March 12, 2020, people will be able to fill out the census online (available in 13 languages) at the website my2020census.gov.
Throughout the rest of the season, Sunday Streets participants will be able to complete the census online at kiosks in the SF Counts “Come to Your Census” Zone, where they can learn about the census, apply for census jobs, and get help filling out the online form. They will also be able to participate in art activations with SF Counts partner Art+Action.
The SF Counts citywide 2020 Census campaign, led by the City and County of San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), is a multilingual and multicultural outreach and education effort for motivating San Francisco residents to participate in the census.
“Participating in the census is important to our families, friends and communities. It’s an opportunity to use your voice and help our City secure its fair share of federal resources and political power,” said Adrienne Pon, Executive Director of OCEIA and SF Counts. “We need every San Francisco resident to call or jump online to complete the census survey. Sunday Streets is an exciting start of our citywide call to action.”
The census is a count of every person living in the United States, and its results determine the number of representatives California has in Congress and distribution of over $880 billion in federal dollars for essential services and programs over the next decade for San Francisco’s schools, hospitals, roads, social services and more.
In mid-March, most people will receive a letter from the Census Bureau with instructions on how to complete the census online or by phone. However, no letter, pin or ID number is required – everyone can do the census online or by phone between mid-March and late July 2020.
“Sunday Streets and the 2020 Census are a perfect fit!” said Livable City Associate Director Katy Birnbaum. “Since 85 percent of attendees are SF residents, this is a great opportunity to make sure everyone gets counted as they enjoy open streets, live music, free activities and community celebration with their neighbors, families and friends at Sunday Streets.”
Sunday Streets is San Francisco’s open streets program, brings open space, free recreation and access to government, nonprofit and health resources to 100,000 attendees yearly. Sunday Streets largely takes place in historically underserved neighborhoods lacking in open space and recreational opportunities, from the Tenderloin to the Excelsior to the Bayview and beyond, with 11 citywide events.
SF Counts will be hosting a “Come to Your Census” zone at the following Sunday Streets events:
- March 8 – Mission
- March 29 – Excelsior
- April 19 – Tenderloin + Thai New Year and Southeast Asian Food Festival in Little Saigon
- May 3 – Bayview
- June 7 – Sunset/Golden Gate Park
- Date and Route TBA – Dogpatch/Mission Bay
- July 19 – Mission
About Sunday Streets
Sunday Streets is a program of the nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City support comes from the Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks Department, SF Police Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors. Livable City produces an annual season of Sunday Street events that reclaim car-congested streets for community health, transforming them into car-free spaces for all to enjoy. Sunday Streets’ mission is to create temporary open space and recreational opportunities in neighborhoods most lacking, encourage physical activity, foster community-building, and inspire people to think differently about their streets as public spaces.
About SF Counts
SF Counts is the City’s coordinated grassroots effort with a broad network of community, arts, civic, labor, education, government and faith-based organizations to ensure that every person in San Francisco is included and accurately counted in the 2020 Census. Led by the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), the SF Counts campaign is a multilingual, multicultural outreach and education campaign to inform and motivate San Francisco residents to do the census. SF Counts partners include the San Francisco 2020 Census Complete Count Committee, arts coalition leader Art+Action, hundreds of community non-profit organizations, and City agencies. Together, SF Counts partners are collaborating to reach every corner and neighborhood in the city, remove barriers to participation, and motivate residents to complete the census online beginning in March.
