Pols Make Census Push In Newhallville

Newhallville resident Lisa Hargreaves opened her door Friday to the familiar faces of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, State Rep. Robyn Porter, and State Sen. Gary Winfield after the team came knocking with handouts on completing the U.S. census.

Hargreaves told the census group that she completed her form about a month ago and would pass on the information to her tenants of the multi-family home, who she believes haven’t completed their census in fear of sharing personal information with the government.

The three elected officials went door to door on Thompson Street Friday distributing handouts that encouraged New Haveners to fill out the census before the bureau’s shortened deadline on Sept. 30. 

Hargreaves said the messages she’s seen telling residents to fill out the census haven’t been educational enough.

“I don’t think people know what it does and how it can help our community. There needs to be more talk about that,” she said.

Even after completing her family’s census form, Hargreaves, said she still doesn’t know ​“if it works.”

Newhallville community leaders like Learning Corridor Executive Director Doreen Abubakar, Newhallville Community Management Team co-chair Shirley Lawrence, Founder of Newhallville Community Action Network Devin Avshalom-Smith, Addie Kimbrough a neighborhood census advocate, and Newhallville/Prospect Hill/Dixwell Alder Steven Winter joined Murphy, Porter and Winfield Friday to get their neighbors counted.

The group met at the corner of Newhall and Thompson Streets, where a team of city staff tabled for passing by residents to collect information on the census. The group split into two small groups to cover both sides of Thompson Street.

After a knock on a door, the group engaged in conversation while waiting for an answer. People at many homes were unresponsive or took a quick peek from the front window and decided not to answer.

Hangers were left on each door as many knocks went unanswered by neighbors, which Murphy said was ​“natural when dealing with a nationwide pandemic that calls to reduce interactions.”

New Haven’s self-response rate is at 53 percent as of Sunday. Response rates in cities have lagged those in suburbs.

Murphy and Porter argued that cities like New Haven cannot afford to be miscounted at the risk of losing federal aid to the state and city.

“The reality is [President] Trump doesn’t want people counted. He knows it’s harder to count people in urban areas and would rather rig the census so money and representation goes to more rural areas,” Murphy said.

Porter said the shortened census count is targeting communities of color and causing ​“census supression.”

“Black communities have been disenfranchised. It’s been a custom to not count us but just because that’s how its been doesn’t mean it should carry on,” Porter said. ​“If we’re not counted we can’t get the food, education, or jobs we need. It’s apart of the crib to coffin pipeline.”

Porter talked with Kimbrough and Lawrence, who threw out an idea to host an informal roundtable discussing the effects of not being counted in the census and the history of mistrust with the government in communities of color.

“The administration could have increased the amount of time we have. Instead they decreased it. So the administration has made it harder for us to count rather than making it easier as would logically be your response in the face of a nationwide pandemic,” said Murphy.