March 3, 2010

Commissioners Fish and Kafoury co-chair the Complete Count Committee, working to make sure historically undercounted communities are accurately represented in the 2010 Census.

The Census shapes the distribution of over $400 billion in federal money each year - $4 trillion over the next 10 years. That funding supports housing, jobs, services for the elderly, parks, schools, and more. For every 100 people not counted, we lose $1.2 million each year for the next 10 years.

The historically undercounted communities in Multnomah County - communities of color, low-income residents, and the homeless, for example - are often most in need of government services. Not counting the approximately 1,600 people currently sleeping outdoors could cost Multnomah County $18 million over the next 10 years.

As Wilson writes in the Oregonian, "Hey you! Fill our your U.S. Census form when it arrives in the mail in two weeks!"