At the beginning of every decade, we expect to fill out the census, as it is constitutionally mandated for the government to conduct one every ten years. We know that this information is important, but many of us don’t know the depth of the impact that it has on the community: roads, Meals on Wheels, Medicare, Medicaid, housing assistance, food assistance, congressional representation, and more. These are all programs or areas of concern that are impacted by the data that the census collects.
Each person not counted could mean a loss of up to $1800 per year. That is up to $1800 per person, multiplied by 10 years and then multiplied by the number of people who are not counted. For every 52,000 people who are not counted, Michigan could potentially lose roughly one billion dollars in funding. This is why it is so important that everyone in Michigan gets counted in this year’s census.
The 2020 Census will be offered primarily online. Each household will receive a postcard in the mail during the second or third week of March. The postcard will include the website to complete the census, along with a unique identifier for your household. Please be sure to count every person in your household who spends most of their time there.
If you do not have the technology to fill out the census online, Senior Services has resources available to you. There will be informational presentations in March, along with a Census Day party on April 1st at each of the Centers.
Starting in April through July, there will be at least one day per month at each of the centers where there will be computers, iPads and phones available to you along with a Senior Services employee available to assist you with the census if needed.
Please note that reputable sources will not ask for your social security number or financial information to fill out the census. There are other organizations or political parties that send questionnaires through the mail, but they are not the official census questionnaires. Please be sure to reach out if you are unsure.
Census Information Presentations:
March 5 • 11:30 am at Sanford Center
Announcements before lunch
March 6 • 12 pm at Mills Center
March 18 • 12:40 am at Coleman Center
Stay tuned for more information. Feel free to reach out to Abi Bridge at 989-633-3772 or ABridge@mccoa.org if you have questions or concerns.
