Sen. DiDomenico Urges Residents to Respond to the 2020 Census

Sen. Sal DiDomenico put out a call to his constituents and res­idents across the Commonwealth to respond to the 2020 Census. Wednesday, April 1 was Census Day, a day to raise awareness and promote participation in the 2020 Census.

“Now more than ever, it is critical that we ensure everyone is counted in the 2020 Census,” said DiDomenico. “Our district and the entire Commonwealth depend on your household to respond so our communities get the fair share of federal funding and represen­tation that we need and deserve. Furthermore, now isthe perfect time for families who are spending a lot of time at home to fill out the census online, and I encourage them to respond to their question­naire today.”

Preparations for the 2020 Census has been a top priority for Senator DiDomenico this leg­islative session. He has worked closely with the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund to secure funding needed in advance of the 2020 Census and to spread aware­ness on the importance of a com­plete and accurate census count. Throughout the legislative session, he has partnered with advocacy organizations to host legislative briefings at the Massachusetts State House to secure support for census funding in the state bud­get and help legislators and staff understand what is at stake in the 2020 Census.

Last budget cycle, DiDomenico played a key role in securing funding in the state bud­get that will help to ensure a com­plete and accurate count in the 2020 Census. The Senator and his House colleague Representative Michael Moran were the lead sponsors of an amendment in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that pro­vided $2.5 million to establish a grant program for statewide cen­sus outreach. This grant program will help to support trusted com­munity organizations and grass­roots leaders reach historically hard-to-count communities.

“With $16 billion in federal funding to Massachusetts for pro­grams like Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP on the line, it is critical that we do everything we can to get an accurate Census count,” DiDomenico said. “More than half of my district’s population lives in hard to count neighbor­hoods, which is why I know how important it is that we work with community based organizations that have trusted messengers to get out the count in 2020.”

While the COVID-19 crisis has created new obstacles to 2020 Census outreach, there are many ways that households can respond to the census without anyone hav­ing to come to their door.

Massachusetts residents can respond to the census today:

•Online at HYPERLINK “http://my2020census.gov” \t “_blank” my2020census.gov

•Over the phone at1-844-330-2020

•Or via mail (census forms were mailed to households across the nation last month)

Online responses and those done over the phone are available in over 13 languages.

The Census is a national popu­lation count that occurs once every decade. The results of the Census are used to make critical decision that will impact Massachusetts over the next ten years, such as federal funding for local com­munities, political representation throughout the Commonwealth, and even civil rights laws.

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