LONGMEADOW – Legislators, as well as federal and local census workers, visited the Storrs Library in Longmeadow on Jan. 30 to answer questions and educate residents about the importance of responding to the 2020 Federal Census.

The census is mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and must be conducted every 10 years by law. Every person in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories has to be counted.

“I think where it happens every 10 years, it’s good to have a refresher,” on what’s at stake, said state Rep. Paul Mark of the 2nd Berkshire District, chair of the House Committee on Redistricting. He said the population data from the census will determine the number of representatives each region of the state has in the State Senate, the State House of Representatives and United States House of Representatives.

He said population growth in the state is driven by Suffolk County, while Hampden County’s growth is slight and the population in the Berkshires is shrinking.

Mark said that when Massachusetts lost a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, after years of population decline, it “diluted our voice in Congress.”    State Rep. Brian Ashe, whose district includes Longmeadow East Longmeadow, Monson and Hampden, told Reminder Publishing, “You want to be as transparent as possible,” and educate people on what the census is. “Not only does it impact our votes, but the amount of money that towns have for services,” he said.

The federal website, census.gov, states “Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.” Mark said, “the census is how we direct $675 billion,” in municipal aid. Each person not counted costs the state $2,300 per year in lost funding, he said.

While making the case that every vote counts, Mark also acknowledged there will be difficulties in getting responses due to, “issues ranging from technology – it’s going to be an online census – to distrust of the government.”

Laura Madrano of the Federal Census Bureau stated the mission of the census is to count “everyone once, only once, and in the right place.”

Madrano said information will be sent out in March letting people know how to fill out their census online. There will also be information about answering the questions over the phone, if preferred.

Any household that has not responded will receive a reminder postcard at the end of the month. If the census has not been submitted by the end of April, a letter will arrive in the mail urging people to respond. Finally, she said, a census worker will visit any addresses that have not submitted the information by May.

“We don’t care how you respond,” Madrano said, whether by phone, online or in paper form.

There are also resources in place to help reach hard-to-count people.

The Pioneer Valley Complete Count Committee (PVCCC) is the census arm of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC). PVCCC’s Patrick Beaudry called the committee “the basic unit of census support at the local level.”     It focuses on hard-to-count populations, he said, including immigrants, refugees, seniors, rural residents and those for whom English is not their first language.

Beaudry said the PVCCC is going to be recruiting volunteers to answer questions at libraries and drop-off centers and reassure residents filling out the census is “legitimate and safe.”

The homeless population is also counted. For three days in March, census workers visit lists of places where homeless people congregate, Madrano said, including food pantries and shelters.

“We even know about people in Walmart parking lots living in [a] car,” she said. Because the homeless are a vulnerable population, they are not interviewed.

“We don’t want to disrupt what they have going on, we just want to make sure they’re counted,” said Troy Brin, another census worker.

During the question and answer period, Madrano dispelled some myths and concerns.

“We’re not going to ask if you’re undocumented,” she said. She said that the form will ask for name, sex, ethnicity and race. Beaudry added that for the head of household, there will be a couple of questions of whether they rent or own their home.

Madrano said filling out the census online was secure.

 “They have been working for several years, they can guarantee it's pretty safe,” she said. She added that the information is low-security, “things that can be found on Google,” she said.

A member of the audience was concerned about scammers and asked if the Census Bureau will ever call someone. Madrano said that the Census Bureau will only call someone to clarify confusion on a paper census. She assured that they will never ask for a social security number or bank account information.

Another question arose around college students who live off-campus and maintain an address at home. Madrano said those people should be counted “where they reside most of the time,” usually they are counted at the college address. If a person spends exactly half the year at each address, they should use wherever they live on April 1, Beaudry said. Madrano said there are mechanisms in place to check for dual addresses.

Mark said that the census doesn’t take an excessive amount of time to fill out. “For a one or two-person family, 15 to 20 minutes is average,” he said. The phone system is answered “in real- time,” Madrano said, so people won’t be waiting long periods of time on hold.

Ashe conceded, “[The census is] not a sexy topic, so for you to come out and ask these important questions – is so, so important. Let people know how important this is – to their communities and their democracy,” he said.

To volunteer for the census, contact Beaudry at pbeaudry@pvpc.com.