Puerto Ricans in Florida still dogged by deficiencies
Last September, powerful Hurricane María slammed into the United States Territory of Puerto Rico. With its 155 mile-perhour winds, the most powerful storm to ever hit a U.S. jurisdiction completely wrecked our electrical grid, severed nearly all communications and destroyed well more than 200,000 houses. The level of devastation was unparalleled in modern history. Even as of today, more than three months after the event, nearly 40 percent of the population is still without power.
This catastrophe forced many U.S. citizens living on the island to pack their belongings and head to safe zones in the states. From September to late December, nearly 300,000 Puerto Ricans emigrated to the mainland; most of them — 270,000 — moved to Central Florida. This is one of the biggest migration waves in the history of America.
Many of the Puerto Ricans currently living with family members in Orlando and Kissimmee need all kinds of assistance from state and local governments. Because of the hastiness of their departure, most do not have basic health insurance. This is an area in which the governments of Puerto Rico and Florida must work together, to pave the way for reciprocity on health coverage, for example.
Recently, Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, started working to provide affordable housing for Puerto Ricans. That’s a good first step, but we need more. The clear majority of Puerto Ricans who moved in the past three months are in cramped spaces; sometimes four or five people are living in one-bedroom apartments. Something must be done to further help those without a home.
Action is also required to help with our children’s education. In Puerto Rico, the new school year starts in early August, which means the children who migrated to the Sunshine State started classes with several disadvantages, including lack of time to prepare; limited, if any, financial resources to purchase school materials; and a completely unfamiliar educational system.
Counseling must be available to cope with this dramatic change.
Additional hardship to the Puerto Rican family comes in the form of mounting economic pressure. Getting a job quickly after relocating is imperative, as well as resolving outstanding debts and other financial tie-ins on the island. Therefore, I propose that financial institutions in Puerto Rico begin a process of settling balances and adjusting notes to accommodate the new reality.
To expand the job market, Florida could provide a temporary reciprocity program for professional careers, such as real-estate agents, automotive technicians, nurses and pharmacy assistants, among others; this way, thousands of Puerto Ricans can start working.
Those are but a few of the issues facing the more than a quarter of a million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico living in Florida. We, at the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, are aware of the situation and will be an active player in dealing with these issues.