HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A call to action in Hartford, as volunteers are calling people up and asking them to fill out their census forms.
Staffers at Hartford Public Libraries helped out the cause Wednesday morning. Normally, they would be able to tell people about the census in person.
“Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been able to do more of the one-on-one service that the Hartford Public Library does with customers,” said Leticia Cotto, the Hartford Public Library Customer Experience Officer.
Instead, they had to get creative, calling up customers as part of a program named Call Five.
“We are inviting anyone in the city of Hartford to call five of their family members or neighbors or friends and invite them to complete the census,” Cotto said.
The census helps determine who gets federal funding for things like schools, hospitals, housing, highways, and much more. Poor, urban communities need that money the most, and yet those are the communities that are usually under-counted.
The pandemic means people in need may be under-counted even more than usual.
The Hartford Public Library on Wheels is helping people in a different neighborhood each day, but still only 42% of Hartford residents have filled out the online form so far.
“We want our numbers to be a lot higher than that, and that’s why we’re inviting people and reminding people to log in, take 10 minutes to do it either online, buy the phone or send it via email,” said Cotto
Pandemic or not, the 2020 census is going to happen, so you really should be counted. Remember, they only do the census every 10 years, so the numbers they gather this year will be what they use through the year 2030.
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