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A week after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, New Haveners are rallying to help the residents of Puerto Rico even as many of the city’s Puerto Ricans wait nervously for news from their family back on the island.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
State Rep. Candelaria, above, lost an aunt, and is helping organize Saturday’s relief event in Fair Haven.
Community groups have rallied together to stage a daylong fundraising event on Saturday and a GoFundMe site for donations. (Click here to donate.) Meanwhile, the city’s many families of Puerto Rican descent have scrambled to learn the fates of loved ones on the island.
The category 4 hurricane swept through the U.S. territory last Wednesday, leaving most of the island’s 3.4 million without any power. That means getting messages to relatives in Connecticut and other parts of the mainland almost impossible.
“Families may not have power for four to six months!!!” the GoFundMe Page reads. “People’s lives have been shattered!”
An emotional Danny Diaz, who is a parent advocate in schools, said during a Board of Education meeting Monday that he has not spoken with his mother since the day the hurricane hit the island. He received a text message from someone letting him know that she was OK, but couldn’t call.
“I used to speak to my mom maybe five times a day,” Diaz said, his voice breaking. “She is the only thing I have in my life. I know she’s OK, but until I hear her voice, she is not OK.”
Diaz urged meeting attendees to support their “American brothers and sisters” who have fought in most every modern American military conflict on the side of the U.S., and done so without congressional representation.
“Because it doesn’t have representation in Congress, Puerto Rico will be third in line after Florida and Texas when relief arrives. We are American, so please support the American people”
Board of Ed member Carlos Torre also made an appeal at Monday’s board meeting for people to get involved with the disaster relief efforts that will be happening in the city this weekend and beyond, noting that recovery efforts will be needed in the months ahead. He urged people to consider donating Eco-kits, which are duffel bags filled with survival items such solar powered radios, flashlights and phone chargers.
“Puerto Rico has plenty of sunlight,” he said. “That is one of the things that it still has.
“The people are the ones that are really suffering at this point,” Torre added. “There is a scarcity of food and pretty much everything. So we’re doing a number of activities throughout the city over the next few days but this is a long-term effort.”
Christopher Peak Photo
Diaz choking up at the Board of Ed.
Like Diaz, Torre is waiting to hear from a loved one, specifically an aunt who is in her 80s. Though she lives in a metropolitan area on the island, he said, he has had no luck locating her though three people are actively looking for her and the Red Cross has been contacted.
“I’m just concerned with the fright she must be experiencing being alone and elderly,” he said
Saturday’s fundraiser and rally to benefit the island will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Quinnipiac River Park at the intersection of Front Street and Pierpont Stree tin Fair Haven. The event is organized by Mayor Toni Harp and State Rep. Juan Candelaria with the help of a group of New Haven alders, the state’s congressional delegation, and community groups including ARTE Inc., JUNTA for Progressive Action for Progressive Action, SAMA.
Since last week donations have been collected by the city and Arte Inc. and through the Go Fund Me page. Donations also will be taken up at Friday’s football Hillhouse High School game and Saturday at Arte’s headquarters at 19 Grand Ave. starting at 10 a.m.
State Rep. Candelaria is among those Puerto Ricans in the city waiting for news about his extended family. Though his mother and father are here, their siblings still live around the city of Hatillo, Puerto Rico. The only news that he’s received is that an aunt on his mother’s side had died. He said that was third hand information that made it to relatives who live in Massachusetts.
“I haven’t heard from the rest of my family,” he said. “There’s limited communication and what information we’re getting has not really been confirmed. It’s difficult.
Candelaria said it is vital that New Haveners support Saturday’s event because many families have lost everything. While non-perishable items will be accepted, the goal is to be able to provide cash assistance so that people can buy what they need.
“People have lost everything, and there are many different needs,” he said. “Today someone requested a battery operated fan because it is so hot. Those are things you don’t think about.”
Like Torre, Candelaria sees the need to continue to provide aid to Puerto Rico going on long after Saturday.
“At the end of the day, what I’m hearing from a lot of people is that there is total devastation on the island,” he said. “Once communication is established we’ll really hear the story and know what happened to our families.
“It is important that people make a donation to this effort,” Candelaria added. “It doesn’t matter if it is one cent. It doesn’t matter what the amount is. We just hope people find it in their heart to make a donation.”
Christopher Peak contributed reporting.