Coronavirus stalls East Point’s #CountThePoint census efforts
Rollout of aggressive awareness campaign canceled as pandemic closes buildings, consumes public attention
As the coronavirus pandemic impacts lives and businesses across East Point, it’s also disrupting the city’s aggressive efforts to have residents complete the U.S. Census.
For months, the city has been planning for the Census and recently launched its public awareness campaign to coincide with the arrival of Census invitations in mailboxes. But as those began showing up around March 12, the pandemic exploded.
It’s left city officials scrambling, canceling Census events and rethinking how to raise awareness at a time when the public is consumed with coronavirus. The city declared a state of emergency on March 16.
“We want to continue to get the word out there to get people to participate,” city spokesperson Shannon Wiggins said. “We’re exploring ways right now about how we can increase the engagement for the census online.”
On Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau extended the deadline to complete the 2020 census by two weeks, pushing it from late July to mid-August. Officials in East Point were scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss their options, Wiggins said.
“We are hoping that we can at latest have a plan rolled out by early April,” she said.
The pandemic disrupted an aggressive awareness campaign from the city. It included the East Point Complete Count Committee, a constant stream of content using the #CountThePoint hashtag and swag from t-shirts, hats and bags to water bottles.
The rollout of the city’s face-to-face campaign was also canceled. Events included the Count the Point Prayer Breakfast at East Point First Mallalieu United Methodist Church and a door-knocking campaign on March 14. On March 16, several Questionnaire Assistance Centers in city and county buildings – including the City Annex and Jefferson Park Recreation Center – were supposed to open. But those buildings have been shuttered in the wake of the pandemic.
City officials want to boost participation in the census from a 66% response rate in 2010 to 86% this year. At stake is a trove of federal funding for housing, healthcare, education and transportation. The funds are allocated based on population. City officials have said each person counted in Fulton County represents nearly $1,700 per year – or $17,000 over the 10-year census period.
“We really want our residents to help us Count the Point,” Wiggins said.
One piece of the city’s public awareness effort has been extended. The deadline for entries in the Census Youth Competition has been pushed to May 1. The contest challenges students across three levels – elementary, middle and high school – to use their creativity to explain what the census means to them. Prizes include Amazon electronics.
Residents should receive a letter with a unique code to complete the census online. You can review the questions on the census here.