 Welcome to another edition of Into the Issues. I'm Steve Pappas. I'm your host. My guests today are Sue Minter, Executive Director of Capstone Community Action, and Liz Scharf, Director of Community Economic Development for Capstone Community Action. Thank you for being here. Hi, Steve. Thanks for having us. For full disclosure, I am the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Capstone Community Action and have served on the board on and off for about six years now. The issues that Capstone deals with on a very regular basis touch a lot of the issues that we talk about here on this show. But for full disclosure, we wanted you to know that I have a direct connection with the organization. So, Sue, I'm gonna start with you. You being my boss. Well, yes. I guess technically that's true. But I don't see it that way. No, I don't. Talk a little bit about what Capstone does, because I think people know the name, but they may not have a firm grasp of kind of the breadth and depth of its role in the community. I think you're right, Steve. Frankly, I served in public service for almost 30 years, and I really didn't understand the depth and breadth of what Capstone Community Action does until I came to work with this incredible organization that really has a mission of helping people rise out of poverty. And we were established in 1965 with the War on Poverty. And are a non-profit organization, so we have a board of directors. But we do a number of programs. We really begin by trying to meet people's basic needs, providing food with the largest food shelf in Washington County. Housing, we do transitional housing units, housing homelessness prevention. Also, especially important at this time of year, we do heating assistance throughout the winter. We do serve three counties here in Washington County as well as Orange County and LaMoyal County. And we're one of five community action agencies across the state, so we really are a network of organizations serving people in poverty and helping them rise out of poverty. We'll talk more about our community, our economic development program, but we also have one of the largest programs is Head Start, so early education for disadvantaged youths and their families, as well as weatherization services. So for low income housing, really trying to cut the cost of heating housing, make homes healthier, and address our climate contribution by reducing the amount we have to consume, the amount of energy. So we have a broad range of services. And I think some of the most powerful programs are really the ways we help people find economic self-sufficiency to rise out of poverty, whether it's helping people develop special skills in the workforce, whether it is helping them find better credit through the credit counseling we do, develop assets so that they can really have savings, start new businesses through our micro business development program. We have a very wide range of really successful programs that are really changing lives and having an impact on our community. And how many folks come through the door in any given year? Well, it depends what program. Believe it or not, our food shelf provides food for over 5,000 people, and that's just in the city of Barri and whoever comes to us. Each program provides a different level of service. We serve for heating. Last year, 2,500 households received assistance for heating. When we look at all of the counties and all of the programs, we estimate about 16,000 people or assistance is provided throughout this service territory. So it's really a big impact. And we do look at poverty and we just did a community needs assessment and understand that in our three counties, nearly 12% of the population are in poverty as defined by the federal government, which I would say is really in extreme poverty. And there are many people. So that federal definition of poverty is actually for a family of four, you have to earn $24,000 or less to be defined as in poverty by the federal government. But what we know is we have many, many more people than that coming to our doors in need of food and need of heat and need of housing because really it costs a lot more than that to even get by in this economy here in Vermont. So the needs are acute. We do everything we can to help people find their path, their opportunity for success and especially economic independence. Yeah, Liz, talk a little bit about what your farm of capstone does. Sue talked a little bit about it, but it's not, I think people think of capstone as being kind of that crisis or emergency resource. And as Sue was saying, it's much more than that. Right, so our program with community economic development is really about sort of creating ladders to financial success and stability. So Sue mentioned the micro-business development program. So we have a robust program that's actually statewide, but we serve around 200 folks each year who are interested in starting a small business or who may already have a small business and could use some support around business plans, trainings, marketing, social media using social media for their business. So we have training around that. We also have what's called the Vermont Match Savings Program and that's a program that allows, that's around the asset building field that Sue mentioned which allows people to save money for an asset which is either a first time home, a small business, higher education and most recently we've added the opportunity to save for a car or a car repair if it's necessary for you to get to employment. So people can save $1,000 and get a match of $1,000 in order to put down towards a purchase of an asset. We also, one program that Sue didn't mention but that's starting to really ramp up is our VITA program, our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. So we see a lot of people coming through our doors to have their income taxes filed with us, their state and federal and even if they don't technically pay taxes or have to file taxes they may be filing a renters rebate or their Homestead Declaration. So we see a lot of folks coming in just to do those forms as well. So that we're starting the training on that and we'll begin that the second week in February through tax season and that becomes a very busy time for us here at Capstone. And some of the work that we're now also working on which I think we're gonna go into a little bit more detail about is doing some education around the 2020 census which is coming up. So that's a project that I'm working on as well right now so we'll be talking a little bit more about that. Yeah, perfect segue. So Sue, there's a concern here that you have raised in some op eds and recent interviews that Capstone represents a population that is very much under counted. And talk a little bit about why that is and why it's important that they are counted. Right, I have been raising issues that are of great concern to me particularly right now with some of the changes at the federal level that are being proposed by the Trump administration and it relates to the discussion around the census and my concerns there. There are several proposed rule changes regarding the very programs that the people in poverty that we serve benefit from and they have proposed in fact reducing what it means to be poor. In other words, you'd have to have even a lower income to qualify for these programs if these proposed rules are adopted. Others are restricting eligibility for critical things such as the food stamps, the what we call the three squares Vermont which we see families in need constantly really finding some of their critical nutrition on a daily basis through these programs. So I am concerned about that and it leads us to the concern about the census and the possibility that we may again have to really work harder to address how we are counted. So I'm a sociologist, I always knew the importance of census information for evaluating how communities are recorded. I've also been aware of how important the census is for congressional boundaries. We don't have that issue here as we only have one congressperson. But I now understand working for Capstone that the census is the critical count of people from which we distribute all kinds of federal dollars. In fact, it's estimated in Vermont over $2 billion in federal funds are distributed based on our census count. Things like transportation funding, healthcare funding, special education grants to our schools and programs that we know at Capstone are critical, LIHEAP, the low income heating assistance program which keeps especially seniors warm throughout the winter. We know that all of these federal dollars actually come to the state of Vermont based on every single person that fills out their census. The census happens every 10 years and census 2020 is upon us very soon. We also know that there are what we call hard to count populations and those are populations generally of the people we serve, people who may not always be responding to the mail, people who may in fact be homeless, people who are here in transition even at college or a student who is being invited a... My exchange daughter? Yes, she's a former exchange student. She'll be counted as former exchange student Vermont. The point is we need everybody to fill out their census and this year I think there's a lot more and a growing distrust of government. Undocumented populations you may have read have really been concerned because there was a discussion around whether citizenship would be a required element of the census which it is not thanks to a decision by the courts but because it was raised there is an ongoing and understandable fear and what we want people to know that it is so important to fill out your census that it is anonymous. This is not gonna be information that is used by the government but in fact information that is critical to getting federal dollars to our state, dollars that serve many, many needs from our roads and bridges to our schools to people who need assistance like food and heat. So we think that the people coming to us we wanna do extra work to educate every citizen but in particular the people who come into our doors and with whom we work because we know that they may already be identified as a hard to count population. So we're putting an extra effort out and we are gonna be mobilizing actually with our partners across the state to push this important message. Everybody counts, so let's count everybody, please fill out your census and it might be interesting to hear about some of our local efforts on that. Yeah, well I mean that's the most interesting thing about this is that it's not as though there's just a pool of census takers currently that pool has to be built and it has to be built in a very short amount of time. It can't just be anybody and I guess my first question is how does Capstone or the community action agencies around the state, how are they going to essentially do this count? Well we're really stepping up as a network, the community action network, a lot because across the country the community action agencies across the country are raising this issue and we're doing it through raising awareness. We hope to hire a statewide campaign director essentially to work at how do we get to the hard to count populations by showing up whether it's at libraries, whether it's at concerts in the park, whether it's at farmers markets, wherever we can find people, we want to be reaching folks to make them feel comfortable and confident in filling out the census. We cannot fill out a census for someone unless we are a trained and certified census taker but we can help remind them, educate them and help them feel confident that this is important and secure information to share. And Liz, how is that kind of manifesting itself locally? Yeah, so I have spearheaded a what's called a complete count committee for central Vermont and what that will be composed of is a group of community leaders in all facets of the community. So we have invited to attend and this is gonna be happening next week on the 14th on Thursday at Capstone, a meeting of about 15 people are gonna be there that represent the hospital, the homeless shelter, the housing authorities, the council on aging, economic services, so the folks who help out with your applications for temporary assistance for needy families and three squares, the library and we have a couple of people from the census themselves who will be there as well. And so what our hopes are to create this committee that can then mobilize and educate our various constituents who often overlap. So we've got, you know, you may have someone from the Berry School District. So they'll be hearing from the, the families will be hearing from the school district how important it is to fill out the census. They may be seeing a sign at the hospital that says, have you filled out your census? And they may also be getting a message from, you know, their apartment complex that it's important to fill out the census. So by having this group of folks from different areas, we're hoping that this message can be repeated from in various ways and from trusted sources so that people feel more comfortable and agree to complete the census. And again, as Sue was saying, for some of these hard to count, it's not just hard to count populations that are actually hard to count regions of Vermont. And that's just by default, the area of where they are that may not have internet access or that may be more rural areas that don't have necessarily access to larger cities and are historically known by the census as hard to count areas. And so we're gonna be, you know, identifying, they're already identified, but we're gonna be, you know, targeting those areas in particular to make sure that the message is being sent. Because what the hope is, is that the hope is that we get most people completing the census before someone has to knock on their door. So at this point, people are gonna be hearing in March, they're gonna be getting letters in the mail that give them the opportunity to either call on the phone, go online, or mail in their census answers. So that's sort of the first hit. And then for those folks who haven't, there will be follow-up mails in April. And then for the folks who have not answered at all is when they will start doing the door to door. So really our goal as a complete count committee is to try to get everyone to do the census before someone has to knock on their door. And yeah, so I think it's gonna bring up three meetings, a November, January, and March, which is those are the months leading up to the actual count on officially April 1st. And I think it's gonna be great. And we hope to get that if there is a statewide coordinator more of those complete count committees around the state, which I believe there are a few already, but this I believe is the one for central Vermont, the only one for central Vermont. Is this the first time for Capstone to be involved in it? Yes, and again, this is only done every 10 years. And I think the stakes have gotten even higher as federal dollars have forgotten far more scarce. And certainly we see the incredibly significant impact of those dollars in terms of the community of people we serve. We really are partnering with the federal government whose job this is, but we understand how hard that job is, particularly with the areas of need that we see. And as Liz said, we already know from the census of the past where they have low participation rates. And our goal is to up that participation. And we think that there's so many things happening in 2020, we're concerned that this will be forgotten. And we wanna make sure we amplify the message just like anything else. You have to hear many times before you think, okay, I'm gonna prioritize this activity. We can also make it available in all of our offices. We are an incredible partner with many agencies because we deal on many issues. And if every partner organization remembers to prioritize this, to possibly have a computer available at their in their waiting room like we will have. Liz mentioned the VITA program, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. That's a great opportunity because I just wanna mention that that's a volunteer opportunity. We are always looking for people. And I wanna say last year we have one person who is our employee. She has organized last year 50 volunteers who in one tax season filled out supported individuals who needed that assistance. Over 1600 tax returns that returned into the pockets of families who need it, over $2 million in returns. Those dollars are spent right here locally. So it's just an example of how important this support is. But at our VITA, and we need your help, anyone who wants to volunteer. But we will also use that as an opportunity to remind the folks who are getting our help at that key time to fill out their census. The census is a short window. It starts being available in mid-March, but the big push of the big day will be April 1st, Census Day. And then the last day is the middle of July. So we really have a short window to really push this message out there. And the questions, there's only a few questions. It's not gonna take people a long time. There's also what's called the American Community Survey which is done every year, which is also a census questionnaire that asks a lot of the more detailed questions, which do often ask around the lines of citizenship. But the actual census itself is a very short questionnaire that really is about counting the number of people in our country so that we have a real solid number. And if you've ever looked at census data, every other year is really an extrapolation of what they think the population is. And it's also based on the American Community Survey, but that only goes to like three million people. It's not, yeah, just a small group of folks. And you may, people so that they don't get confused, they may at the same time as getting their 2020 census questionnaire, they may also be randomly included in the American Community Survey. So don't be alarmed if you see that you're being asked to answer both and they are required by law to answer both, so. Why do we do the census? We do the census so we know who lives where, generally speaking, but because for example, federal dollars have to get spread out over 50 states and all the communities in them. So how do you do that? Well, you sort of try to look at the numbers of need. And that's a great example of every individual counts when it comes to how do we spend these dollars? And it's been estimated that in Vermont, for every census we do not fill out, we will be losing $3,000 per year for the next 10 years. So literally that's federal money that we're gonna quote leave on the table because we didn't fill out. Every person counts. And it's also used in all kinds of ways. As I mentioned earlier, that count is very significant and where people live on how we draw boundaries for congressional districts and senatorial districts. It's used in all kinds of assessments as a sociology on looking at the impact of any kind of policy change and then tracking that change over time. Sometimes we wanna know how well is a particular policy going and we can actually look at the impact through the changes in the demographic count. And the constitution says we have to. Exactly. Thank you for that good reminder. Yeah, constitution protects the press, protects freedom of all our basic freedoms. It's one of those ones that, I think people take for granted the fact that the founding fathers felt like this was an important tool for tracking who we are as citizens. Yeah, thanks for the reminder on that. Yeah. So what are next steps and how can everyday people watching this get involved? Well, if you're in Washington County, join the complete count committee. Most importantly, if you're an individual, keep your eyes and ears open and look in your mailbox. It won't be until March, either in your email or mail. But as soon as you get that, please fill it out and tell your neighbors and friends to fill it out. Let people know it matters. It matters in terms of how much food your neighbors might or might not get. And it's that clear and that simple and that urgent. Other ways. I couldn't have said it better. But I mean, seriously, it is one of those things where you don't want to ignore it. And it really is, answer all of the questions because the questions do matter. If they're asking you what your family relationship is, that may be related to programs or policies around single parents or children, policies around childcare. So answering all of those questions that they ask are important to forming these decisions, these critical decisions that are gonna be made over the next 10 years. And it really is. It's about the next 10 years. It's not about the next year. What matters in our answers this year impact us for a full decade. This is what we say. Everybody counts. So let's count everybody. Well, on that note, thank you very much, Sue Minter and Liz Sharf from Capstone Community Action for Being Here, talking to us about what Capstone does and how important it is to follow through on the census. Thanks so much, Steve. Yeah, thank you. And thank you for watching until the next edition.