ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — With only a week remaining before the Census Bureau ends its 2020 counting efforts, many families in the Quad Cities still haven't been counted. Rock Island has the lowest response rate among the Quad Cities, with an estimated 13-14,000 residents who remain uncounted.
A group of volunteers is going door to door to get the word out. Link: here's how to respond to the 2020 Census online.
"Trying to let everyone know how important this is," said Ametra Carrol-Castaneda. "Everyone counts!"
The stakes are high. The federal government allocates much of its spending based on population numbers gathered by the Census. It is also how the government determines political representation in Congress every 10 years.
Ametra and others could be seen on Wednesday walking up and down Glenhurst Ct. knocking on doors and handing out information to residents.
"I think it's great. Somebody's got to motivate them!" said longtime resident Lorenzo Nesbit. The neighborhood is one of a handful in Rock Island that still has a response rate of lower than 50%.
"It's crunch time like we haven't seen before," said Dave Geenen executive director of the Doris & Victor Day Foundation, which began efforts to improve Census participation in 2018.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Geenen said there were several community events and block parties in the works to get the numbers up. When those were canceled, the work of volunteers like Ametra became even more important.
"Informing the neighbors, letting them know -- 'Hey, please. Fill out your Census,'" Ametra said. "Please! Not just asking, I am begging."