Catholic Charities helping families who fled here after hurricanes in Puerto Rico

By William T. Clew | The Catholic Free Press   

Temporary housing for families that fled a devastated Puerto Rico may be in jeopardy and Catholic Charities Worcester County is trying to help. March 20 is a looming deadline for certain families who came to the Worcester area after Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed or damaged homes and infrastructure throughout Puerto Rico last year. 
March 20 is when money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency runs out. FEMA pays the fees of those families receiving Transitional Sheltering Assistance to stay temporarily in hotels.      
According to information from the regional FEMA office in Boston, which serves the New England states, “any extension for any FEMA programs has to be made by the governor of the declared disaster, as of today (March 6) no official letter or request has been received from the Governor of Puerto Rico to extend FEMA’s TSA program. We continue working with the Government of Puerto Rico on all housing options and opportunities for the survivors of Hurricane Maria.”
“If survivors are eligible to participate in the TSA program, FEMA makes payments directly to participating hotels and motels for room rental and taxes, up to the General Services Administration rate,” FEMA reported.
Catholic Charities has helped, or is helping, between 75 and 100 of the roughly 500 families who came to Worcester County. Many have relatives here, according to Maydee Morales, area administrator for the Catholic Charities central office. 
Some people moved in with relatives. But landlords have said there are limits to the number of people who can live in rental apartments. Others moved into public housing, which also has restrictions on how many people can occupy a unit. Miss Morales said that the housing authority has extended the period that they can stay in public housing from 14 days to 45 days.  
When time runs out some families are moved into hotels in Worcester, Auburn and Westborough, she said. FEMA funds pay the cost. 
Catholic Charities is looking for volunteer families to “buddy up” with the Puerto Rican families to help them find housing, Miss Morales said. They are also looking for volunteers to help the families navigate the system, advocate for them and assure that they are being treated fairly.
Catholic Charities is working with Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and the City Council, the city School Department and the welfare department as well as FEMA, the Worcester Community Connection, the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and the South Middlesex Opportunity Council to help families. 
Catholic Charities has passed out food, diapers for families with small children, school supplies and clothing. On those days when near-zero temperatures hit the area in early January, she said, some of the youngsters stopped going to school. So Catholic Charities gave them boots, coats and jackets to help them cope with the Worcester winter weather.
All are American citizens, Miss Morales said.  Some of the families want to stay here, some have to stay here because they lost everything in the hurricanes, and some want to go back to Puerto Rico. FEMA has funds available to help those who want to return to Puerto Rico and some families have done so, she said.
Many of the families speak English, Miss Morales said. And some of those who don’t, find ways to work it out. She said one woman who speaks only Spanish carries a Spanish-English dictionary and that, with sign language and help from strangers, manages to get around pretty well.
As of Feb. 28, there are 3,652 applicants from Puerto Rico staying under the TSA program in 37 states and Puerto Rico. In Massachusetts, there are 602 applicants staying in hotels under the TSA program, according to FEMA.

CNS PHOTO:Members of the Hispanic Federation participate in a Unity March Nov. 19 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to highlight the ongoing humanitarian and natural disaster crisis in Puerto Rico. (CNS photo/Yuri Gripas, Reuters)