Council Member Russell Appointed to 2020 Census Sub-Committee
Goals include increased outreach to ensure accurate counts

North Hempstead, NY – Town of North Hempstead Council Member Viviana Russell has been appointed as co-chair to the Nassau County Local Government Committee, a subcommittee of the Nassau County Complete County Count Committee for the 2020 Census. As co-chair of the subcommittee, along with Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman, Council Member Russell will work to ensure that everyone participates by completing a 2020 Census questionnaire and that Nassau County is completely and accurately counted in the Census.

Council Member Russell, along with members of the subcommittee, will work together to develop an outreach strategy to gather complete counts of vital statistics for the 2020 Census. The committee holds monthly meetings.

"As a municipality, local governments interact with thousands of people daily through our various departments, so making sure those people have access to Census information is what we will be doing,” said Council Member Russell. .”An effective count will require strong partnerships. We will be looking to our local governments and local community partners - civic groups, churches, schools, residents, family and friends to ensure the diverse array of neighborhoods throughout Nassau County are all counted. The decisions made based on the information obtained from the 2020 Census will affect the quality of life for the people here on Long Island for the next 10 years. With our growing population it’s absolutely imperative that we receive every dollar in funding for our communities to ensure important issues such as, healthcare, education, infrastructure, housing and economic development and community resources are properly funded. The more we know about the people in our community, the better we can understand and meet their needs."

“It’s our responsibility as a Town and as a member of the greater Long island community to ensure every person is counted so that we all receive the proper resources and congressional representation we deserves. Long Island Counts,” Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth added. “We consider it an honor that Council Member Russell has been appointed to this very important position.”

As part of their efforts, the Nassau County Local Government Sub-Committee is also working on focusing on Nassau County areas that are difficult to count, such as areas with residents who may have language barriers, complex households (non-traditional living arrangements) and renters. These elements can often make accurate counting difficult.

Some of the areas that have been labeled “hard to count” by the U.S. Census Bureau include Great Neck, Glen Cove, Elmont, Freeport, Hempstead, Long Beach, Lakeview, New Cassel, and Valley Stream.

For more information about the upcoming 2020 Census visit: https://www.census.gov/en.html