MPDC Is Making Roxbury Count!

According to a study by The Center for Urban Research (CUR) at the CUNY Graduate Center, Boston is one of 19 major cities in which “the negative correlation between participation rates and the percent of the population that is Black is stronger than the national pattern.” 

The Community Action Team at MPDC is hard at work to make sure that all of the residents who live in our properties get counted!  We’ve been flyering the neighborhood, making phone calls to our residents, and going door-to-door to remind folks to send in their Census forms.  We’ve also arranged for Census workers to be available to our residents at the property management offices several days away, should anyone need assistance filling out the form. 

The US Census is used to distribute $400 billion every year in government money to communities for schools, hospitals, public transportation, and other important social services such as WIC and SNAP.  At MPDC, we want to make sure that our community receives all of the resources it deserves! 

Here is a breakdown of Census participation rates so far:

• Citywide -- The current participation rate in Boston is 52%.
• Statewide – The current participation rate in Massachusetts is 67%.
• Nationwide – The current participation rate in the US is 66%.
• Within MPDC properties – The current participation rate in the Madison Park Village area is 54% (that’s 2% higher than the citywide rate!) and 49% in the Orchard Gardens area. 

For an up-to-date interactive map of Census participation rates throughout the country, click here!