As Puerto Rico continues to try to recover from Hurricanes Maria and Irma, another disaster: a 6.4 earthquake, actually one of a series of 950 earthquakes and aftershocks, crushes a large swathe of the island. Hundreds of homes, schools and businesses were destroyed, thousands of residents are sleeping in tent cities, too afraid to stay indoors. It’s taken yet another terrible toll on the already fragile infrastructure. But it’s taken a worse toll on the people. The NY Foundling runs a series of Head Start programs on the island, and what they heard from their nearly 500 employees there was stunning. They said parents are afraid to bring their children to school. They’re losing their jobs. Children are traumatized. So, The Foundling took action. Bill Baccaglini joins Cheryl to talk about the program they’ve put in place that focuses on the mental health of kids, parents and their own employees. El Puente went to Puerto Rico in 2013 with one plan: to bring solar power to places where the electrical grid has been struggling. Co-Founder and Executive Director Frances Lucerna describes how their focus has shifted to health, education and legal programs, believing everyone needs to know their rights as they try to recover.
WANT TO HELP?
The New York Foundling:
http://www.TheNYFoundling.org/donate
El Puente:
Unidos: