The Carbondale Census Complete Count Committee met on Wednesday to look ahead to the 2020 census. The main issue for dicussion was a $139,000 grant awarded to the Carbondale NAACP to increase the census count.
A big focus of the grant will be community outreach, to reach people who might not be regular news consumers.
"A lot of people don't read the newspapers," said NAACP member Carl Flowers. "A lot of people don't watch Channel 3 or Channel 6 or whatever. So they really don't understand the importance of the census."
Outreach plans will also focus on the reasons why the census matters, and try to dispell myths and concerns people have about privacy. One area the group hopes to help people understand is how census money affects their lives.
Some of the funding determined by the census is more abstract, but Flowers said talking about school locations, hospital funding and other services helps people understand why participating matters.
Specific focus will be placed on groups that are traditionally undercounted, including African-Americans, non-English speakers, college students, renters, and low-income individuals.
The 2020 Census will begin on April 1, 2020.
