San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed today launched San Francisco’s Census Week of Action. The week of action is part of the City’s SF Counts campaign, which aims to increase the self-response rate for Census 2020 by reaching out to hard-to-count communities, providing technical assistance, and educating the public that the Census is set to end on September 30th. City officials and departments, community organizations, faith leaders, and the business community are all mobilizing to help San Francisco obtain a complete census count.

“The Census is an important measurement of our community. In these tough economic times, we must protect critical federal resources for lifesaving programs and we must preserve our voice in the electoral process,” said Mayor Breed. “San Franciscans can help in a meaningful way by filling out the Census today and ensuring friends and family members do the same.”

San Francisco’s current self-response rate for the 2020 Census is 65.6%, compared to 2010’s final self-response rate of 68.5%. The statewide self-response rate for this year’s census is currently 68.6%. Strategies to improve the count include in-person assistance in Civic Center, Chinatown, Bayview and the Mission District, phone banking by community-based organizations and City departments, door-to-door canvassing in undercounted communities, as well as additional outreach by trusted community leaders.

Since July 2019, San Francisco has been working with a network of over 30 City-funded community-based organizations, businesses, labor, the San Francisco Complete Count Committee, and hundreds of volunteers to conduct outreach to residents and encourage them to attend one of the in-person events if they need help filling out the census.

“San Francisco is united during our Citywide Census Week of Action to improve our count,” said City Administrator Naomi M. Kelly. “We thank the community groups, local sports teams and faith-based organizations that are helping us complete the count and ensure we get our fair share of federal funding.”

San Francisco Giants announcer Renel Brooks-Moon and Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr are assisting with public education by filming public service announcements to encourage participation. Their PSAs and a complete social media toolkit can be found here.

Census Week of Action: Schedule of Events

Social Media: Kick-off Census Week of Action by posting and sharing Census 2020 information with our social media toolkit.

On-Site Assistance

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Civic Center Plaza

McAllister & Larkin Streets
11:00 am - 3:30 pm

Friday, September 25, 2020

Portsmouth Square

Kearny & Clay Streets

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Mendell Plaza

1401 Mendell Street

11:00 am - 3:30 pm

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Garfield Square

3100 26th Street

11:00 am - 3:30 pm

SF Counts Census Citywide Caravan traveling to every San Francisco district to help residents with the census

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

SF Counts + Together SF Census Phone Banking Nights – Volunteers Welcome!

Sign-up for a shift on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 here.

Sign-up for a shift on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 here

For more information about the Census Week of Action events, go to sf.gov/census.  

“The Week of Action is an all-out team effort by the SF Complete Count Committee, the City and community, faith, and labor organizations to make sure that San Francisco residents get assistance to complete the 2020 Census survey,” said Adrienne Pon, Executive Director of the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs. “We are counting on each other to help the rest of our residents do their census by September 30th and ensure the City’s fair share of resources, representation and voice for the next 10 years.” 

“Census 2020 is the most important challenge to overcome before the end of September,” said Anni Chung, President and CEO, Self-Help for the Elderly, and San Francisco Complete Count Committee Co-Chair. “I urge every resident in San Francisco to complete the Census Questionnaire TODAY and reach out to 10 others to do the same. San Francisco needs everyone to be counted!”

“At Code Tenderloin we know the needs of our community far exceed the available resources, especially during critical emergencies,” said Del Seymour, Founder of Code Tenderloin. “We need residents to sign up for the census to increase attention and awareness of our needs. The community will receive much needed funding from the Federal Government. Those funds will create services, programs, and resources across the board. We fill out the Census because we all yearn for a better community.”

“The Black community has been undercounted since we were counted as three-fifths of a person, 400 years ago. With our recent cries for social justice and change, this is a critical time for us to stand up and be counted,” said Jacqueline Flin, Executive Director, A. Philip Randolph Institute of San Francisco. “We need to support one another by completing the census today.”

“The stakes are high and the future prosperity of our City is dependent on a successful 2020 census count,” said Mario Paz, Executive Director, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center. “As we enter our final days of our 2020 Census Complete Count efforts, I urge all San Franciscans to complete their information at www.my2020census.gov and stand and be counted!”

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 and Immigrant Affairs, the SF Counts campaign is a multilingual, multicultural outreach and education campaign to inform and motivate San Franciscans to do the census.

 

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