Census letters to be mailed out this week in South Lake Tahoe and around the country

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Starting Thursday, residents will begin to receive an initial invitation to respond to the 2020 Census.

Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online, by phone or on a paper questionnaire.

The Census is nine questions and takes less than five minutes to complete and the results obtained are used to determine representation in government as well as funding for the community. This funding would go to help benefit local roads, hospital services, schools, nonprofit support, food programs, rental subsidies, community safety, and more. Information gathered is used for many projects including housing.

Once the census goes live on April 1, 2020, residents will be able to fill out the census online at a website created by EDCF, the El Dorado County Foundation (https://eldoradocf.org/census-2020/), as well as the link provided on the census papers received, www.my2020census.gov. Alternatively, residents can fill out and mail in the paper copy of the Census once it arrives.

The Census questionnaire does not include any question on citizenship status, a fear that may have been a cause of a below-average response rate to the last Census in South Lake Tahoe. Funding has been provided to the ECF to encourage participation, from sponsoring youth soccer teams to providing Census guides and informational websites and advertising.

Schedule:

March 12-20 - First set of letters sent out
March 16-24 - Second set of letters sent
March 26-April 3 - Reminder postcards
April 8-16 - If Census not turned in, reminder letters
April 20-27 - Final reminder mail

If results not received by then, door-to-door Census takers will visit homes with a goal of 100 percent participation.

There will be free assistance provided at the physical locations listed below:

South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center
South Lake Tahoe Library
Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe Community College
Bijou Elementary
Tahoe Recreation Center during Soccer League games