The donation impacts the quality of life for low- and moderate-income families.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 31, 2018 | The Puerto Rico Community Foundation (PRCF) granted $1,350,000 in donations to rehabilitate or rebuild 87 homes for low- and moderate-income families whose properties were damaged by Hurricane Maria. The donations were awarded to five community housing development organizations, known as Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs).
The rehabilitation works will include repairs to roofs and interior walls, replacement of doors and windows, electrical or plumbing repairs, painting, and more. In some residences, the repairs will be major or total. In addition to rehabilitation and reconstruction work, CHDOs will offer educational and training services to families in the following areas: construction, personal finance, crisis management, and emotional counseling, among others. The projects have a socio-economic development component in the communities, focusing on job creation and resident empowerment through the establishment of community brigades for the works.
The organizations will work on housing rehabilitation in the following towns: Ceiba, Lares, Yauco, Utuado, Jayuya, Ponce, Orocovis, Vega Baja, Toa Alta, Guayama, Loíza, Río Grande, Salinas, Coamo, and Villalba. “There is an urgent need to ensure that every citizen of this land has a safe roof that can withstand the impact of another atmospheric phenomenon, which is why we chose to invite our collaborators on the subject, the CHDOs, so that they could take on the task, in which they in turn incorporate elements for the personal, social, and economic development of the community residents,” said Dr. Nelson I. Colón Tarrats, president of FCPR.
In response to the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the FCPR designed a programmatic strategy to improve housing access in our communities, as the crisis in this sector worsened after the blow of both atmospheric phenomena, according to the Housing Crisis study by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York, along with the School of Planning of the University of Puerto Rico. This initiative was made possible by a contribution from The San Francisco Foundation to the FCPR's Community Recovery Fund for Puerto Rico.
The organizations that received the donations are: Ceiba Economic Development Corporation, C.D. ($150,000), PathStone Corporation Puerto Rico Inc. ($350,000), Ponce Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. ($300,000), Institute for Socioeconomic and Housing Development (INDESOVI) ($200,000), and One Stop Career Center of Puerto Rico, Inc. ($350,000).
In addition to working with CHDOs, FCPR established an alliance with the Ricky Martin Foundation and the Municipality of Loíza to rehabilitate approximately 37 homes in that town, work that has already begun and is projected to finish in the coming months.
The work of the FCPR has been possible thanks to the Community Recovery Fund for Puerto Rico, reactivated at the Foundation after both atmospheric phenomena. The fund has reached $$12.5 million and its donations are being distributed through projects for access to water, renewable energy, housing, education, and economic development.
About the Puerto Rico Community Foundation The FCPR is a non-profit entity that for over 32 years has advised individuals, families, corporations, and foundations on and off the island on how to channel their philanthropic concerns. The advisory aims to ensure that donors' contributions have an impact on the self-development of Puerto Ricans. Additionally, the FCPR has a programmatic area for annual projects resulting from current needs in our communities. The FCPR is the first foundation of its kind in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, and today it remains the only one in Puerto Rico.
CONTACTS
Mary Ann Gabino | Senior Vice President FCPR | R-492
Libni Sanjurjo , FCPR Communications Officer , (787) 240-0130 lsanjurjo@fcpr.org