Black Mountain organizations offer assistance with 2020 census

Broad River Fire & Rescue and the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce will host separate events on Aug. 29 and 30

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 27, 2020

As the Sept. 30 deadline to complete the 2020 census approaches, community organizations throughout the Swannanoa Valley are working to emphasize the need for participation. 

The Broad River Fire and Rescue Department and Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of a Commerce will host a pair of census drives this weekend to provide support for area residents who have yet to report. 

The volunteer fire department, in partnership with its supporting auxiliary program, will open to the public from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29. The chamber will host a drive from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Both events will feature volunteers who will answer questions and assist members of the public with the census form.

“It’s a very simple form, only nine questions,” said Chamber of Commerce executive director Sharon Tabor. “But, it’s very important that we get an accurate count because the census has a major impact on every community.”

Conducted every 10 years by the Bureau of the Census, the population count collects basic information on U.S. residents in all 50 states and five inhabited territories. The questionnaire does not require respondents to provide a social security number, political party affiliation or bank information. 

The data gathered through the census is used to determine the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives and plays a vital role in the allocation of federal funding at the state and local levels. 

The 2020 census is the 24th to be conducted in the country’s history, and the first to offer options to respond online or by telephone. The process began on April 1, and was initially scheduled to conclude July 31. The deadline was extended to Oct. 31, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being moved up to Sept. 30. 

While the extension provided residents with more time to complete the census, current figures show that the response is significantly lower than it was in 2010, when nationwide participation was around 74%. 

“The national response as of Aug. 24 was 64.5% and N.C. is at 60.3%,” Tabor said. “Just over 60% of Buncombe County residents have completed the census.”

Around 65% of Black Mountain residents had responded to the census as of Aug. 26, while Swannanoa was hovering near the 60% mark. 

“Our goal is to at least match the 2010 response,” Tabor said. “That census is still very relevant today, because those figures were used to determine funding for COVID-19 relief. If we can’t reach the same level of participation in N.C. this year, the state could potentially lose around $70 billion in funding over the next 10 years.”

Federal funding for Medicaid, student loans, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), emergency services, highway planning and construction and many more are determined through census data. 

“Imagine a world where school children have limited access to meal programs at school, or elderly members of the community see reduced access to Medicaid and Medicare benefits,” Tabor said. “There are approximately 150 federal funding opportunities that risk being reduced or eliminated if the response is lower than it was in 2010.”

Residents who have yet to respond can complete the form by visiting 2020census.gov. 

“We will allow people to come in, sit down and assist them with filling out the form,” Tabor said of the chamber’s census drive. “We can answer any questions and we will have tablets and laptops available for people to use, or we can help people complete the census on their smartphones. We will not provide paper forms.”

Broad River Fire and Rescue, which announced earlier this month that it now offers WiFi services to guests in all three locations, will offer refreshments to those who attend the Saturday event at its main station at 44 Broad River VFD Road.  

“There are several other organizations throughout the Swannanoa Valley that plan to hold similar events in the coming weeks,” Tabor said. “We really want to emphasize the importance of participation in the 2020 census, because for every 1,000 people who are not counted represents $11 million that could potentially not come back to the community.”