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City and County Leaders Make Final Push for Participation in 2020 Census

Scott Willis
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WAER News

Leaders from Syracuse, Onondaga County, and non-profit partners are making a final push to encourage responses for the 2020 census before the September 30th deadline.  Officials are spending the next six days going door to door in less responsive city neighborhoods to spread information about the census.

Regional Director of the Census Jeff Behler asked community members to motivate other residents to fill out the census.

"We still need your help. If you filled it out, thank you.  But we need you to talk to your neighbors, talk to those you work with, those you worship with.  Tell them about the census, tell them that it's safe."

Behler says census takers will wear masks and social distance as pandemic safeguards. He adds that census information is protected by federal law and can’t be accessed by anyone at any time.  Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor in a normally difficult effort to collect the census, noting that the self-response rate is close to 8 percent lower than the last count in 2010.

Councilor Pat Hogan, Fire Chief Michael Monds, another offiicial, and DPW Commissioner Jeremy Robinson prepare to hand out items to children at the homes they visit.
Credit Scott Willis / WAER News

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"We're already in a hard-to-count community.  Add the pandemic on top of that, and it's a perfect storm of challenges.  We are going to finish strong and work right until the very end to make sure everyone is counted."

Last month, the Trump Administration shortened the extended deadline of October 31st to the current deadline on September 30th. The extended deadline was meant to compensate for the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortened deadline has put pressure on census takers to gather responses from under-represented communities, including immigrants and non-English speakers.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Signs were posted in the grassy median formed by Bradley, Rowland, and Elliot Streets.

Behler with the Census Bureau credits the city and its partners for their focus on improving census response despite difficulty.

 "They're talking to the community members.  They know exactly how to message the importance to a particular neighborhood or household to help them undertsand what's at stake.   They're our inspiration at the Census Bureau,  no matter what gets thrown at us externally.  We know we have a job to do."

Census officials stress that filling out the census decides the allocation of funding for school breakfasts, Medicare and other essential services across the county.  The website is my2020census.gov.  The census can also be completed by calling 1-844-330-2020.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
The struggling neighborhood is one of the lower-responding areas of the city.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.