MOULTRIE – With the 2020 United States Census around the corner, Archway Partnership is doing everything that it can to ensure that Colquitt County gets as accurate a count as possible from the Hispanic community.

Archway is a unit of Public Health and Outreach that was created by the University of Georgia in 2005. It assists in identifying the needs of the county such as education, health and wellness and economic development.

Sarah Adams, an Archway Professional, is in charge of getting the word of the U.S. Census out to the community.

 “Colquitt County has been an Archway Partnership community since 2005,” said Adams. “Archway assisted with the 2010 census and tracked what worked to spread awareness of the census, as well as which community stakeholders were important to include on the Complete Counts Committee (CCC). The local CCC met on Aug. 28, 2019, to develop a work plan for the community for Census 2020.”

In 2010, Archway conducted a Be Counted Colquitt County task force that worked to get the word out to the Hispanic community about the U.S. Census and offer assistance to those who needed it, such as providing information centers to those who did not speak English.

This year, the Committee is trying something a little different.

“Colquitt County has a sizable Hispanic and Latino population, and community leaders want to make every effort to reduce language barriers,” said Adams. “Darrell Moore, executive director for the Center for South Georgia Regional Impact, is working with a marketing team through Valdosta State University to design promotional materials in Spanish that we can use during the count of Colquitt County.”

Along with new promotional materials, the CCC plans to be visible at many Hispanic and Latino community events, such as La Fiesta del Pueblo in Tifton, and has also made plans to staff information booths outside of grocery stores, parks and other places community residents visit.

“The committee is working with church leaders, athletics coaches, social service organizations, and other groups in order to help the full community understand why the census count is important,” said Adams.

Last year, according to Adams, the County counted 3,445 additional residents. Areas identified as “hard to count” (HTC) required the U.S. Census Bureau to hire follow-up employees to backtrack and investigate residences who might not have been counted the first time around.

“Every community faces barriers when it comes to the census. You need enough money to produce fliers, table tents, radio announcements, TV ads, etc. to educate people about the census and help them dispel any misinformation or fears they have about providing their confidential information to census takers,” said Adams.

In order to make people more comfortable, as they are more likely to submit census data when it won’t be used against them, the CCC is reportedly recruiting religious leaders, public service employees, coaches and other well-known and trusted community leaders and members to reach out to residents.

“The importance of the census is that more people counted means more federal dollars for Colquitt County to spend on priority needs, like healthcare, schools, roads, sidewalks, children’s programming, etc.,” said Adams. “For every person counted, the county gets $2,300, which would be an additional $23,000 per person over the next 10 years.”