The City of Fort Myers has established a complete count committee (CCC) for the upcoming 2020 Census. The CCC works to raise awareness and encourage participation in the census, and is led by Ms. Geri Ware, who is assisted in the effort by Ms. Patricia Sala, along with representatives of city government, local faith based organizations, and nonprofit leaders.
A complete, accurate census count is necessary for equal political representation, for distribution of federal and state funding, and sound planning and investment. It requires extensive work to increase awareness about the census and motivate residents to respond.
The work is especially critical in the City of Fort Myers, which is home to populations who, historically, have been disproportionately undercounted, including people of color, low-income households, non-English speaking people, and immigrants. Predicted mail response rates show that certain areas of the city are at risk of being undercounted in 2020. Several census tracts within our city have predicted mail response rates lower than 70%. These predicted rates are equivalent to the low 2010 overall mail response rate of 66%.
The CCC provides the opportunity for close coordination and collaboration and enables the efficient use of limited resources. CCC members collaborate on a variety of community engagement strategies to promote census participation, particularly in areas and communities that are historically undercounted and at risk of being undercounted in 2020.