The US Census Bureau recently made the decision to move up the deadline for responding to the Census by a full month – from October 31st to September 30th. This change hurts West Virginia and hinders our efforts to get an accurate count of our state’s population. It is crucial that we make sure each and every West Virginian is counted.
Right now, our state has one of the lowest Census response rates in the country. Only 55.1% of West Virginians have responded to the Census, which means that we will lose out on billions of dollars in federal funding. Every individual person in West Virginia who does not complete the Census equals $20,000 in federal funds West Virginia and our communities will lose over the next 10 years. If 100 West Virginians don’t respond, that's $2 million in federal funds West Virginia will not get.
We simply can’t afford that. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how critically important federal funding is for hospitals, senior centers, Veterans clinics and schools in our state. You can help ensure these core community groups receive a larger allocation of resources over the next decade by taking the time to complete the Census. It only takes a few minutes to fill it out.
Every response and every voice matters.
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