Among 17 major US cities, Detroit ranks 13th for its census return rate. Only 42 percent of Detroit residents have completed their census.
“We are giving away the money we need for our residents’ health care, for their food, for all kinds of support for 10 years,” said Mayor Duggan. “We lost a huge amount of money in the last decade because we did not fill out the forms.”
Duggan encouraged people to reach out to their neighbors in order to increase participation.
He admitted from his own experience working with census participation efforts that African Americans are less likely to complete them. Additionally, he realized people tend to trust those around them more than the government so when rapper Icewear Vezzo stepped into a leadership role he welcomed it.
In a press conference joined by the mayor, Vezzo said,
“We need to fill out these forms right now more than ever. We need this money for healthcare workers, for children, for health care insurance programs…We don’t know what will happen 10 years from now. We have to be prepared.”
For a complete census guide of resources and to fill out your census, visit https://detroitmi.gov/census.
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