Buffalo, NY – Mayor Byron W. Brown today reminded Buffalo residents to begin watching for their 2020 Census Invitations, which will be arriving by mail Thursday, March 12. Once the invitation arrives, households in Buffalo and across the U.S. can start responding to make sure they are counted. “Everyone counts, and every person needs to be counted. There’s a lot at stake for Buffalo in the 2020 Census,” Mayor Brown said. “It’s very important that every adult and child living in Buffalo is part of the count to ensure the City receives adequate federal funds to pay for critical local services, such as school lunches, hospitals and health programs, community and senior centers, and street and highway construction and repair for the next decade.” “Much of Buffalo’s population growth in the last few years can be attributed to our youth and to our City’s immigrant and refugee communities,” said Jessica Lazarin, Director of the City’s Office of New Americans. “Our collaborative outreach efforts will make sure all our neighbors and newcomers are counted so that Buffalo has the resources it needs, moving forward, to support the wellbeing of our entire community, including young adults, students, immigrants and our most vulnerable populations.” The Census invitations will ask respondents to include everyone living in the household, adults and children, whether they are related or not. The invitations will also include instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone. Reminder mailings will be sent to households that do not respond, and in the fourth mailing every household that has not yet responded will receive a paper questionnaire. If a household does not respond to any of the invitations, a census taker will follow up in person sometime between May 13 and July 31. “In March 2019, I formed the Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Committee, a partnership that includes members of my administration, community and faith-based groups, and nonprofit organizations from throughout the City of Buffalo in preparation for the 2020 Census” Mayor Brown added. “Over the next weeks and months, efforts will be made to reach all our residents, no matter their country of origin, race, religion or sexual orientation. Through our complete count initiative, we will be breaking down barriers of language, disability and internet access to make the census process as easy as possible.”
The City of Buffalo is also working in collaboration with Erie County and the State of New York to ensure there is a full, fair, and informed census count. Mayor Brown also noted that local libraries, community centers and other locations will have computers available for those who want to respond to the Census online, but do not have internet access in their homes. The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the entire population every 10 years. Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as how billions of dollars in federal funds are allocated to state and local communities for the next 10 years. The 2020 Census questionnaire is available online and by phone in English and 12 additional languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese. These 13 languages cover the language needs of over 99% of all U.S. households. The Federal Census Bureau will also provide video language guides, print language guides and language glossaries in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, Braille, and Large Print. For more information about the 2020 Census, visit 2020census.gov.
THE DOCUMENTS HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVE WILL LOOK LIKE THIS: