Door-to-door efforts begin for 2020 census in neighborhoods with low response

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Community groups are beginning to canvas neighborhoods with low census response rates. 

Census takers will begin door-to-door canvassing across Detroit at the homes of people who haven't already answered census questions by mail, online or by telephone. Canvassers plan to knock on 200,000 doors.

The City of Detroit is pushing hard to get the numbers up with a response rate of only about  47% right now, which is far below other US cities comparable in size.

"I guess most people in urban cities got a don't ask, don't tell mentality; don't snitch. Don't let people in your business, some of it's shady, I don't know. But you should do it though," said Adrian Thomas, who grew up in Detroit. 

"It's really just about getting the counts so we know how many people are in the city of Detroit and get the money we need," said Minou Jones with the Black Caucus Foundation of Michigan. 

From the census can come millions of dollars in federal funding that goes to pay for everything from after school programs to public safety.

With every door knock and every conversation, Benjamin Dirden is hopeful.

"I feel like I do make a difference. If I can answer questions and tell somebody something they didn't know, then yeah," he said. He's canvassing with the Black Caucus Foundation of Detroit. 

"If they see people out there maybe they'll wake up and realize if all these people are going through this much trouble, must be something," Thomas said. 

For more information on the census, visit michigan.gov/census2020.