September 26, 2019

Help make sure Detroit is counted: student volunteers sought to support 2020 Census

Once every decade, a very important piece of mail makes its way to mailboxes throughout the nation. Contained in the envelope is an invitation to complete a document — whether in paper or online — that will affect the country and Michigan in a huge way, both financially and politically.

Wayne State University has partnered with the city of Detroit to support the success of the 2020 Census with the “Be Counted Detroit 2020” campaign, and students are invited to play a critical role in the process.

The number of people living in Midtown has been misrepresented in prior years because of a lack of information for city apartments and multifamily homes. WSU will provide training for student volunteers to go out in Midtown with a group of fellow students to survey different buildings and verify addresses and unit numbers of apartments and multifamily houses. All volunteers must participate in a training session on Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. (dinner provided). The volunteer assignment will take a total of six to eight hours and will be completed later in October.

Sign up to volunteer here.

The upcoming 2020 Census results will translate into hundreds of billions of dollars. Annually, more than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to states and communities; Michigan alone receives close to $30 billion. Based on the Census taken every 10 years, the funding supports numerous programs and services such as Medicaid, student loans, school lunches for children, foster care, housing, and infrastructure improvements (including roads and bridges), to name a few. Census data also impacts the number of congressional representatives composing Michigan’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members, divided from among the states based on the Census count. If Michigan’s count is lower, that may affect the number of seated representatives in the state.

In 2010, the Census completion rate in Detroit was only 64% — one of the largest declines in participation nationally. This drop cost the city tens of millions of dollars in federal funds.

Loraleigh Keashly, associate dean of curriculum and student affairs in Wayne State’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, reflected on the important role of the Census. “This knowledge about the Census's central role in determining financial resources and access to political voice and influence for our communities is critical,” she said. “What is also critical is the trepidation and fear of minority communities that the information they share will be used against them, which affects their willingness to participate. Everyone needs to be counted.”

Key dates for the 2020 Census include: