Voice, Representation, Power, and Health

FY20 civic health efforts consistently focused on (1) strengthening resident leaders, (2) supporting more responsive policies, and (3) upholding fair processes. COVID-19 and George Floyd changed how we worked, but did not change the goals of our efforts. A successful Census 2020 complete count became more challenging than ever, as Vitalyst and partners adapted to a new world where door knocking was prohibited. Distilling community health challenges into an on-point, tuned-to-the-moment Arizona Town Hall “Creating Vibrant Communities” Background Report topic was equally critical to get right. Playing a key role in establishing and developing an Arizona-based Asylum Seekers Coalition was similarly critical to meeting a moment when federal agencies and policy were turning an indifferent shoulder to families legitimately seeking legal refuge and opportunity by entering the U.S. through Arizona’s border.

Census 2020 was a particular focal point. Funding and partnership with the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Education Fund and One Arizona led to helping ensure a fair and accurate count of especially hard-to-count populations. Vitalyst staff actively served on Arizona’s Complete Count Committee and the Phoenix Complete Count Committee, and hosted a Nonprofit Census Solutions workshop in partnership with the U.S. Census, Arizona Complete Count Committee, One Arizona, Helios Education Foundation, and City of Phoenix. Vitalyst provided additional funding to support a funders’ collaborative, a City of Phoenix mini-grants initiative, Phoenix IDA Grants, seven refugee & immigrant-serving organizations focused on previously undercounted Census tracts, and additional community efforts to help hard-to-count populations recorded an undercount