Bureau staff train locals on how to use website for
statistics
Representatives of the U.S. Census Bureau held a training
workshop in Hollister Aug. 24 to guide government employees and
nonprofit organizations through gathering statistics online at
2010.census.gov.
Bureau staff train locals on how to use website for statistics
Representatives of the U.S. Census Bureau held a training workshop in Hollister Aug. 24 to guide government employees and nonprofit organizations through gathering statistics online at 2010.census.gov.
Enrique Arreola, the deputy director of San Benito’s Community Services and Workforce Development, said that the idea for the training came about three months ago when he attended an out-of-town meeting with Nancy Martin, of the Economic Development Corp. They heard about the website training that the U.S. Census was offering and asked to host a session in Hollister.
“I’ve gone through the website and it’s really difficult to navigate unless you know what links to hit,” Arreola said. “We can get demographics on employment, income. They covered so much in that three and a half hours.”
More than 20 people showed up for the training, which was held at the CSWD office, off San Felipe Road. The participants were seated at computers so that they could follow along on the website as the instructor took them through the steps to gather statistics about the local community.
“We need to bring more federal dollars (into the county) and assist nonprofits and the public sector,” Arreola said. “We have to have meaningful demographics. So for me that will be useful when I write different proposals. We depend on up-to-date and good information that we look at on our applications.”
Esther Curtice, the program manger of Court Appointed Special Advocates San Benito, said she attended the training to find out how to gather the statistics she needs to seek funding for the nonprofit. The agency pairs up eligible volunteers with foster children in the community.
“I wanted to be able to find out how I could get the latest and greatest data for our county so we can utilize that for our program,” she said. “It is not user-friendly so this was a way for us to learn. I wasn’t really thinking they would be showing us all the different ways of doing (searches.)”
Curtice said that she appreciated that the training was hands on so that she was able to navigate through the website and look at different fields or ways to collect data.
“We have diversified funding,” she said. “We don’t just get funding from one or two sources. We have different grantors who want to know different information so it’s really important.”
Arreola and Curtice also said they learned about the American Community Survey, an update that the census bureau conducts in between census years. Arreola explained that the survey is much more in-depth than the basic questions asked during the census. It is conducted every year in large jurisdictions, and every two to three years in more rural areas.
“A lot of the data is good and we are dependent on that to be competitive,” Arreola said. “We are not an entitled jurisdiction so we have to work together with other partners in our county. You see all the issues – unemployment, foreclosure, homeless, people in need of food and shelter. We don’t have enough resources so we need to bring more.”
Lisa Faulkner, the executive director of First 5 San Benito, has used the census website before but she said the training taught her new ways to sort the information.
“It is a really comprehensive tool,” she said. “I learned new ways to access down to a place-based level.”
She said that rather than just looking at county-wide numbers, the instructor showed how to select a specific district to gather information. She said she looked at the Ridgemark district versus the R.O. Hardin area.
“A lot of people brought it up that we really have two kinds of populations,” she said. “You have the commuters with higher income levels and then severe pockets of poverty that compete at the national level.”
For Arreola, the statistics gathered on the census website are crucial to applying for the Community Development Block Grants, a federal grant program that is managed by the state. The grants in the past have supported the Community Food Bank, the Homeless Coalition, Emmaus House and other programs.
Mary Lou Coffelt, the executive director of the Emmaus House, said that the training has made it easier for her to access information she might need.
“It was very helpful having a training,” she said. “It’s going to make us a little more proficient. It was extremely beneficial.”
She said being able to gather the information will help her to apply for grants in the future, but it will also help the board members to evaluate the programs that they offer.
“We can make some subjective decisions about our community,” Coffelt said. “We can compare it to our own statistics.”
Coffelt said since opening in Oct. 2006, Emmaus House has sheltered more than 675 women and children. The shelter is focused on providing a home and resources for women and children who are leaving situations with domestic violence.
“In addition to the emergency shelter, we have a full spectrum of resources that we provide to help a woman really move forward in her life,” Coffelt said.
Some of the resources include case management, emergency clothing and food, an art therapy class, a parenting class, a support group and programs through the county’s Behavioral Health department.
“We don’t just house the women,” she said. “We provide the tools and it’s a critical component to stop the cycle and move forward in their lives to a healthy and nonviolent kind of life.”
The shelter can house up to 10 families at a time but is in need of financial support to stay sustainable.
Other nonprofits and city or county employees who work in departments that rely on demographics, such as housing and the redevelopment agency, also attended the workshop.
“We don’t get a lot of federal representatives in our county so it’s nice to have it local,” Arreola said. “It minimizes the travel.”
The census website is 2010.census.gov.
Get involved:
CASA of San Benito is looking for volunteers who are interested in being an advocate for local foster children. For more information on upcoming information sessions, call Esther Curtice at 637-4992.
Emmaus House is in need of financial support. The Community Foundation for San Benito is sponsoring a matching donation drive through the end of the year. For every $2 donated to Emmaus House, the Community Foundation will match with $1. To donate call 630-5899 or visit the administrative office at 829 San Benito St., Ste. 300.
