GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids is reminding people to fill out those census forms. You can do it online, by mail or over the phone right now.
The census count determines lots of things like congressional representation and how many federal funds are allocated to cities; and believe it or not, you filling out the census could help determine how much help we get in a future situation like the one we're facing now.
"A lot of the resources being used to respond to this crisis for healthcare, Lou Canfield, COMPLETE COUNT Committee Coordinator says. "Nutrition, business assistance - all these things - they get allocated to our community based on the population count."
Canfield says - since they can't do person-to-person work - they're going to be doing more advertising. And, the self-reporting phase has been extended until August 14th.
Speaking of which, the response rate in the City of Grand Rapids is about on par with the state as a whole. And - Canfield says - better than a lot of other metro areas. A little more than half of Grand Rapids households (51%) have already responded. That's about a point and half behind the state rate.
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