Massachusetts will provide aid to the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in the last week by providing resources to those in need, as well as assembling a task force that would help accommodate Puerto Rican evacuees arriving in the state.
“We stand ready to extend heartfelt welcomes to disaster survivors who seek temporary or permanent residence in Massachusetts and will provide any and all personnel and equipment requested throughout the recovery process,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a Thursday press release.
University of Puerto Rico professor and Harvard scholar, Pedro Reina-Perez, said there have been so many Puerto Rican’s attempting to flee the devastation that access to flights off the island have become limited.
“The airport has been virtually shut down for the past week, with only about 10 flights coming in and out every day,” Reina-Perez said.
Reina-Perez said he appreciates Massachusetts’ efforts but claims the aid will not be available to residents of Puerto Rico until they have completely run out of local sources, under federal mandate.
“Apparently the restrictions with [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] are so big that a number of sources need to be exhausted before Massachusetts can step in and provide assistance,” Reina-Perez said.
Reina-Perez said he believes the FEMA restrictions on aid will prove detrimental to Puerto Ricans.
“One would think the island would receive all the help they could get, particularly through aviation but from what I gather [Baker is] limited by the circumstances,” Reina-Perez said. “FEMA is doing a lousy job overall in handling this because people are growing desperate.”
In addition to the Massachusetts’ relief efforts, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, along with the Boston Foundation, announced the creation of the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico fund on Friday, according to a press release from the Mayor’s office.
Up to one third of the money generated will be available for distribution immediately, while the rest will be released over the next year for long-term reconstruction and economic recovery work, according to the release.
Many Massachusetts residents are also contributing to the fundraising effort through the creation of organizations focused on collecting resources and donating to responsible and efficient relief groups.
Ivys Fernández, a member of the Alliance for Puerto Rico, said she has joined one of these organizations to help Puerto Ricans rebuild for the long-term future.
“We want to avoid having to give money to people who don’t know the island or who are not aware of people’s necessities and we want the help to get there as soon as possible, not just with immediate needs, like right now food, water, access to medical care but also we want to help to rebuild the island in a very sustainable way,” Fernández said.
Fernández said she expects those leaving Puerto Rico after the hurricane to move to places where they have family or friends — including several major cities in Massachusetts, which has the fifth largest population of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States, according to the release.
“Mayor Walsh said [Friday] that he has been preparing Boston officials to receive a massive influx of Puerto Ricans, as well as the town of Holyoke, Massachusetts, which has the biggest population of Puerto Ricans by square mile in the United States,” Fernandez said.
Several Boston residents said they have donated their time and money to Puerto Rican relief efforts to help repair the recent destruction.
Colleen Walsh, 24, of Brighton, said she thinks people should not feel obligated to donate but it will be up to fellow Americans to help.
“The president should have had a better and a quicker response and they shouldn’t be placing the blame on the people in Puerto Rico,” Walsh said. “They should be helping them … I don’t think it should be a requirement, I think that if you have the means to help people you should.”
Charles Neumann, 27, of Brookline, said he and his husband have given to the American Red Cross because they wanted to make sure the money would go straight to relief efforts.
“We chose an organization that we felt would use the money beneficially,” Neumann said. “We didn’t want our donation caught up in the finances for the organization.”
Rickey Perdomo, 53, of Dorchester, said helping people is the easiest way to bring together humanity.
“Everybody needs help,” Perdomo said. “Everybody needs help and if we just put the guns and the weapons down and just help each other this would be a better world.”
