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Census takers try to count those experiencing homelessness

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Posted at 5:03 AM, Sep 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-22 10:53:07-04

CINCINNATI — Specially-trained census takers will be heading to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other places in the hopes of getting an accurate count of people experiencing homelessness.

RELATED: Census Bureau encourages people to get counted online

The census was supposed to wrap up by the end of July, but the pandemic caused officials to move the deadline to the end of September. However, federal judges are hearing arguments to extend the collection period until the end of October in order to get even better data.

The inspector general said cutting the deadline short poses the risk of the census being inaccurate. If the census is inaccurate, then community funding for things like social services and schools could be underfunded.

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That is why those specially-trained census takers are trying to make sure that those experiencing homelessness are properly counted. That way, communities get the support they need.

If you need to fill out the census, you can do so at 2020census.gov.