West Kentucky Star spoke with Shawnna Rhine, Public Information Officer for the Southern Seven Health Department, about the importance of participating in the census.
According to Rhine, when a community doesn't participate, it can affect federal benefits to local areas.
She said, "When people don't do their census, the government looks at that and thinks, well, maybe that region doesn't have enough people, or it doesn't have the people we thought, maybe those services aren't needed and we all know they are."
Rhine says when people refuse to fill out their census questionnaire, it could cause our region to miss out on important money that could go towards disaster relief. The funds could also go towards helping our local schools, businesses, hospitals, and infrastructure like roads and bridges. The more people an area has, the more resources the government will allocate to us.
"The more people that respond to that, the more money we get, because we're showing that those resources are needed here locally," Rhine said.
According to Rhine, the last census took place in 2010. Since the last census, the lower seven counties of Illinois specifically have missed out on over $12 million in funding. If that money was there now, it might have been used to help battle COVID-19 more effectively.
You can find additional details and participate in the 2020 census at the link below.
On the Net:
Participate in the 2020 Census
