El Mirage’s 2020 Census Complete Count Committee will take an urgent message to the streets of El Mirage Aug. 5-10: complete the U.S. Census now before workers begin knocking on doors Aug. 11.
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El Mirage aims to boost Census response rate
Posted
Independent Newsmedia
El Mirage’s 2020 Census Complete Count Committee will take an urgent message to the streets of El Mirage Aug. 5-10: complete the U.S. Census now before workers begin knocking on doors Aug. 11.
The volunteer committee, in partnership with El Mirage and local businesses, will be stationed at several locations to promote the importance of completing the Census. Each citizen counted represents about $3,000 in future funding to local support services like healthcare, public safety, education, libraries, parks, senior services, transportation and housing, according to a release.
Below are the dates, times and locations of the committee’s Census Community Engagement Booths, and residents are encouraged to visit the booths if they have any questions about how to complete the Census.
7-9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Pueblo El Mirage Golf Course, 11201 N. El Mirage Road
10 a.m-noon Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Family Dollar Store, 12101 W. Thunderbird Road
8-10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at Sunrise Donuts, 13011 W. Greenway Road
3-5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at El Mirage Senior Center, 14010 N. El Mirage Road
8-10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7 at Coury’s Auto Service, 12313 NW Grand Ave.
9:30-11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7 at Pratt’s Pets, 11717 NW Grand Ave.
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 at Rio Mirage Café, 12245 W. Santa Fe Lane
8-10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10 at El Mirage Library, 14011 N. 1st Ave.
3-5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10 at Walgreens, 12244 W. Cactus Road
Census committee members will be on hand to walk citizens through the process, which can be completed on a cell phone within minutes, using only a citizen’s name and address. The committee is providing iCount stickers, hand fans, pencils and informational flyers (English and Spanish) to citizens who stop by the tables.
Health and safety precautions will be in place, including booth workers wearing masks, practicing social distancing, using cleaning supplies and having gloves and hand sanitizer available.
Citizens can track how El Mirage is responding in real time and compare with other cities by visiting www.2020census.gov/response-rates. El Mirage currently has the lowest self-response percentage rate of cities in the West Valley. For the week of July 27, El Mirage’s response rate was 54.6%. The national response rate was 62.6%, Arizona’s was 59.3% and Maricopa County’s was 63.1%.
El Mirage’s low response rate was a motivating factor for the Complete Count Committee in organizing the community engagement tables.
The Census can be completed by mail, phone or online and is available in 59 languages. Census workers will begin going door to door in El Mirage Aug. 11 and continue through Oct. 31. Census takers will wear masks and follow local public health guidelines when they visit your home. All census takers complete a virtual COVID-19 training on social distancing and other health and safety protocols before beginning their work in neighborhoods.
If someone visits your home this year to collect information for the 2020 Census, check to make sure they have a valid ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. Census workers may also carry Census Bureau bags and other equipment with the Census Bureau logo.
Further, during the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will never ask for your Social Security number, your bank account or credit card numbers, anything on behalf of a political party, money or donations.
For more information and testimonials regarding the importance of the U.S. Census as it relates to future funding of programs within the City of El Mirage, visit www.elmirageaz.gov.
