El Paso organizations work to ensure homeless are counted in the 2020 Census

EL PASO, Texas -- In less than a month, many households in the Borderland will receive their census forms in the mail. The data collection is necessary to help the federal government determine how much funding and how many resources local communities need.

Several communities are difficult to count, including homeless populations. That's why several Borderland shelters and homeless organizations have formed a committee to explore strategies together.

At the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, census workers will come to the shelters to take information from residents.

"The information that the census collects is used to determine funding for the next ten years, so we really want to get an accurate count of how many homeless we have and how many resources we need," said Nora Bosslet, who works with the Opportunity Center.

Bosslet said residents can be fearful of the government, and so the center has focused on educating residents about the census and how their information will be kept private.

"One of the challenges we face with counting our population is that it's transient," Bosslet said. "People keep coming in and out. Every year we serve 2,00 unique individuals."

Most households will receive their census forms after March 12. Individuals can fill out the forms online, over the phone or by paper. You can find more information here.